suburban density

i found some folks through warmshowers.org who would host me at the last minute. after the long, dreary ride out to their place in an R.V. park near Apache Junction i ate like a racehorse. the sour cream i had bought went perfectly with the kind of mexican-themed meal. my hosts, bill and gerri, had already eaten, but they sat with me at the table while i ate and we all talked. very nice!
they live in a cozy mobile home and have another one, their old one, a couple spots down. they rent it out sometimes, but it was available for me have it all to myself for these two nights. i dug the efficiency of these little homes.

the way all these people have chosen to live in close proximity to each other and in smaller spaces was appealing to me. there was a good, neighborly atmosphere and i saw a lot of people walking around. cars always yield to walkers or cyclists!

i went hiking with bill and gerri on that fine, sunny sunday. the desert environment felt so alien to me those first few days. spending time walking through this wilderness area was a good way of becoming acquainted with the native plants. i decided that i really like the palo verde, with it's green bark. i've since learned that the beans from this legume are edible!


i saw young and very old saguaro cacti, and learned that the arms sometimes bend down after freeze damage. also i noticed that the cacti would often grow under nurse plants that provide shade, nutrients, and frost protection.

i always offer to help with anything i can around the place. it is part of my mission on this trip. gerri did some washing of their house in preparation for waxing, but didn't want help. bill had me dig around one shrub to see if it could be moved to another spot, but it proved too much of a task to be worthwhile. that evening i cooked us dinner of sauteed vegetables and roasted acorn squash with pearled barley. that was satisfying!
that evening i also got to use the sauna over at their recreation center. it was very peaceful as i decided to spend my whole time in there and not sit in the chlorinated hot tub, where folks were socializing.
in the morning gerri and bill were going on a group bike ride with a bunch of other older folks. our routes were the same for the first few miles. it was cool to start out this day of riding among other cyclists. it gave me good momentum.