On the way home we encountered something that is quite common to Arizona although probably foreign to other states: "Virga."
It is rain that evaporates before it hits the ground. Very frustrating to us people who enjoy a little REAL weather now and then.
Further down the road, we noticed some interesting skies and had to pull over to take a few photos. The highway between Havasu and Parker (Indian Reservation) is surrounded by gorgeous mountains and the river is beautiful.
As we neared the outposts of Havasu we were astonished at some cloud formations that looked to be rain off to the East, with the sun reflecting off them from the West:
We must've taken 50 pictures, from the side of the road. The mountains in the distance were completely covered up by these clouds, which just seemed to be taking over the desert.
Once we got into Havasu, we noticed the "cloud" had taken on a more interesting look, and Steve's daughter called excitedly to tell us it was snowing in the mountains.
We tried to climb the nearest mountain in order to get a better look, but by the time we got up there the storm moved away from us. So we went out for some Friday night fish and chips.
It was an exciting day altogether, really, because Steve and I enjoyed ourselves a Latte on our way to the romantic, isolated community of Bouse:
That's his rugged, wonderful hand in the photo, with a scratch on it because he was wrestling a mountain lion earlier this week. Or he mis-handled his pocket knife. I dunno.
But, the Latte thing is quite exciting because Steve has NEVER been a coffee person, his whole life. And now all of a sudden he's interested. This means I've changed him. CHANGED HIM. Soon he will like Superman as much as I. Oh yes. It will come to be.
Our Christmas was quite subdued. We didn't do the gift thing, Steve did cards for his daughters and I. But his daughters got money with their cards. I got a kiss. Shay had a stocking with some Hot Wheels and money in it. And some clothing. Oh and of course the Kung Fu Panda DVD that I ordered him several weeks ago. But that was it. The food was delightful, and Steve's brother came over to enjoy it with us. Potatoes Pave was the big hit as well as the Red Velvet cake I made from scratch.
I gave Steve his carbon fiber cane which he loved. His actual present for me was a Cobra Helicopter jacket that he had made. It arrived in Fed Ex today, rather than before Christmas. He went thru a lot with the flight jacket manufacturer and the embroiderer to get it done right. The only other ones in existance belong to him and his boss. Mine actually fits nicely. And I look like a kung fu badass in it:
I especially like the "Remove Before Flight" tag on the sleeve zipper:
I hear Steve on his phone right now, telling someone that we're going to drive three hours tomorrow morning to see their plane. DAMMIT!
