The Lawlyes Log

The Lawlyes Family experienced a lot of changes in the last year. Last December our first grandchild, Benjamin was born to Becky and Matt, becoming the new center of our universe. Sara graduated from law school and relocated to Long Beach, CA and is working for the U.S. Air Force. Carolyn and Larry retired and moved to Prescott, AZ. Staying in touch with each other and our friends is a challenge and a priority. This log will help us share the new unfolding chapters of our lives.

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Location: Prescott, Arizona

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Tucson, Tombstone & Bisbee


At the end of February, Carolyn and I made our annual pilgrimage to Tucson. We had a great visit to the Saguaro National Park where we spent the day hiking. The park features miles of trails from which you can see more than 50 species of cactus as well as a wide variety of other desert inhabitants.

If you ever get lost in the desert, the Barrel Cactus will help you get your bearings. It always leans to the south as it orients toward the sun.

Can you see the jack rabbit? (If not, click on the image to enlarge it.) This guy was bigger than either of my two dogs.


Here you can see a cactus condo. Woodpeckers have made homes in the top of this saguaro. A woodpecker will live in the home he built only one year then will abandon it. Other species of bird will use it in subsequent years. (The woodpecker chooses a new mate each season. Apparently the new wife refuses to live in the old house.)

The life cycle of the saguaro is fascinating. They can live to be 200 years old. They grow very slowly and take 50 or more years before they grow their first arm. To preserve precious water, they sleep during the day and wake up at night to engage their metabolic functions. This saguaro has an arm that has drooped and twisted. This is the result experiencing a very cold night. The cellular structure broke down. You can see at the tip that it is just beginning to arc upward again.


There are so many saguaros in the park that you would think that the cactus easily reproduces. That is not the case. In its lifetime a saguaro will produce a million seeds. Due to the difficult conditions a saguaro is lucky if one seed survives to create a successor plant.

While we were there, desert plants were just beginning to flower. One of the first do to so each year is the Fairy Duster seen here.


This cactus has produced its fruit for the year. Native American harvest the fruit and produce a drink and other edibles from it.

We also took a day trip down to Tombstone, the "town to tough to die." Tombstone was laid out in 1879 after Edward Schieffelin, a miner, staked a claim for a silver in the area. At the time there were 40 cabins and 100 people living there. Two years later the population grew to more than 7,000.

With the influx came a building boom including a theater, a court house and a host of saloons.

One saloon was supposedly run by Big Nose Kate, the common law wife of Doc Holliday. Kate was the well educated daughter of a Hungarian aristocrat. She is buried here is Prescott under the name Mary K. Cummings. (She married after Doc's death.)

In the early 1880's Tombstone was home to desperate men on both sides of the law. Cattle rustling, stage coach robbery, and murder were common occurrences. Sometimes the lawmen were as shady as the bad guys.
The OK Corral, site of the most famous shootout in western history. On Oct. 26, 1881, Virgil Earp learned the Clanton Gang was gathering and looking to fight with the Earps. Virgil, Morgan and Wyatt Earp joined by their friend, Doc Holliday, headed out to meet them. The fight lasted 30 seconds at point blank range. When it was over, Billy Clanton, Tom and Frank McLaury were dead. (All shot by Holliday.) Virgil was shot in the leg, Morgan in both shoulders and Doc was grazed across the hip. Only Wyatt was unscathed.

The outlaws were buried at Boothill Cemetery. From the sign on the right you can see, not all agreed with the law. In fact a trial was held before the Earps were exonerated. Many contended the fight was for political control of Cochise County. Three months after the OK Corral, Virgil Earp was shot and wounded. Months later Morgan was murdered by an unknown assassin. Wyatt killed three men he suspected were involved then left Tombstone forever.
Finally we went to Bisbee which reveals another chapter in Arizona history. Bisbee was a mining town. In its heyday it produced tons of copper and as a by product, turquoise.
Unlike other mining towns, however, Bisbee made itself over. Now the European-like town is a tourist attraction with quaint shops and restaurants. Situated at higher elevation than Tombstone, it enjoys a mild year around climate.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Sara Runs The 2007 Long Beach Marathon

Oct. 14, Sara ran the Long Beach Marathon which she trained for over the last six months. She had a beautiful day and gorgeous scenery to test her mettle. We left Redondo Beach early for a 7:30am start. 18,000 people signed up for the marathon, half marathon, walk, and bike ride that made up the day's events. An early start and Sara's knowledge of the back roads of Long Beach helped us beat the traffic.

We knew we were close when Bob and Sara saw half of those 18,000 people lined up at the porta potties.
First item of business for most runners -get the Ipod going. Sara used a Nike sensor in her shoe connected to her Ipod to track her course, pace, and distance.

Bob gave her a few final words of encouragement. He has participated in Iron Man competitions in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Brazil.

With that, she was good to go.
Seven and a half minutes after the starter's gun, Sara crossed the starting line to begin her race.



The 26.2 mile course runs largely along the harbor of Long Beach.


Runners first head toward the downtown area.


They then loop back ...



run by the Queen Mary ...



around the Lighthouse at Rainbow Harbor ...



(Here's Sara feeling pumped up at the six mile marker.)




(Sara's friend, Sheila, graciously came along to lend moral support and encouragment. It really helped.)



and then out onto the beach.



Then they wound through Belmont Shore before looping back to the starting line. (See the woman running in the pink tutu?)

Here Carolyn is cheering on a participant running in her grass skirt. Carolyn rang her cowbell
throughout the race prompting several runners to say, "We need more cowbell!"



At the 23 mile marker Sara is still looking strong! Just 3.2 miles to go.





At the finish line! Subtracting the time it took Sara to get to the starting line to begin the race gives Sara an official time of 5:10:42. A terrific first marathon.

A hand raised in triumph.

Sara receives her medal.


A proud pop.

In her first effort, Sara outran 25% of the men who entered the race.

She's already talking about her next one.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

"Gardening" Arizona Style

You know how one thing leads to another?
Carolyn and I won a gift certificate from a local nursery at this summer's Meals On Wheels picnic. We chose two red Autumn Sage bushes to plant in our yard. What would have been a thirty minute job in the rich loam of Illinois turned into a three hour project in Arizona's granite.

Nonetheless, enthused about our "gardening," we decided we also needed a cactus. This project would be even more challenging. You need a spade to plant in Illinois, in Arizona the primary gardening tool is a hammer.
A few hours and a couple of muscle spasms later we had a nice Indian Fig cactus adorning our front "lawn." Now on a roll, we decided to build a Desert Garden of native, low water, full sun plants.

We chose a spot in our side yard and marked it off with small stones.

Then I gathered our tools. (Based on our previous experiences I upgraded to a pick and crowbar.)

I removed the existing landscape rock and cut out the weed barrier.

Digging the bed was the next order of business.

The first break came at ten minutes into the dig. It was time to don the gloves.

By dark, I had amassed quite a pile of "Arizona topsoil."

The next day I got a little behind in my work and began stacking the stones for the garden border.
The biggest challenge turned out to be wrestling the largest stones in place. A crow bar, brute effort and an assist from Carolyn and the minivan resolved the problem.

By afternoon of the second day, our mini Stonehedge was nearly complete.

Next it was time to shovel and rake three tons of fill dirt and super soil to make the plant bed.
The final stage - plant and cover the top soil with decomposed granite for a protective layer. (By the way, I was told it was OK to wear white since it was before Labor Day.)
This is the nearly finished product. We will add a few more plants in the spring and possibly some solar lighting to accent it at night.
Almost all of the plants in the garden do well in high desert conditions. Once well established they will not require a lot of water. Here are some we have chosen:

The “Arizona Sun” Gaillardia, also known as "Indian Blanket" blooms for weeks in the summer and attracts butterflies.
The Polka Dot Prickly Pear Cactus (also called the Bunny Ears Cactus) can grow to be three feet tall. It has lemon yellow flowers in spring. It is covered in very fine hair-like stickers. I wore gloves and a long sleeved shirt to work with it.

The Red Hot Poker is originally from South Africa. It attracts hummingbirds which are abundant here.

The Santa Barbara Salvia will have velvety purple spikes, summer through winter. It too attracts hummingbirds and hummingbirds.

Goodwin Creek Lavender will have spikey blue flowers and a wonderful fragrance.

Plumbago is a ground cover with small blue flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Coreopsis is a member of the sunflower family. They are prolific bloomers.

Stonecrop Sedum is a great ground cover for this area. It loves a sunny dry climate and is resistant to both deer and rabbits.

Moonshine Yarrow is a great rock garden flower. It loves the heat and needs little water. It has a long growing season.

Yet another plant that is drought tolerant and attractive to hummingbirds is the Purple Salvia.

Cotoneaster is an evergreen shrub that originated in Asia. We are using it as a centerpiece in our garden. It will grow tall if allowed or can be shaped as a small tree or bush.
To add color in the fall, we planted a fusia mum. It will need a little extra care to see that it survives. Rabbits, in particular, like them.