Last Amazing Day at Canyon Ranch

Alas, a bitter sweet day, because it's our last.  We've had Lots of adventures, made new friends, had great exercise classes, devoured chocolate covered bananas, took a major mountain hike (by some), saw two Great Horned Owls and several Havalinas..   And what, you may ask, is a Havalina?  There is a photo below.  They look like small black pigs, but they are in fact, part of the rodent family. Annette spotted about ten of them this morning on the "Great Hike".  It was supposed to be a level 2 hike that turned out to be a level 3!!  Annette made it all the way to the top!  Arlene  got almost there.. She didn't have on good hiking shoes and was worried about slipping on the descent....

While my roomies were climbing, I was sketching and painting. We drove to an art gallery and grounds of the famous artist De Grazia.  You may not recognize the name, but I think you will recognize the style.  Many of his Indian children water colors have ended up on greeting cards.  We visited his simple home where he worked in a lot of different art mediums.  He died sometime in the early 1980's..I had a great time taking photos on the grounds and then attempted to do a watercolor of the mountains.  Watercolor is a very hard medium to work in without any experience..I think I will need to take a basic drawing class when I get home.

I had a great Aqua Exercise class while Annette and Arlene went to Melissa's Zumba class (always a joyful event that everyone loves!). After lunch ( which by the way was awesome --hamburger and real pizza  followed by the hidden dessert secret of chocolate covered bananas ) we rolled over to Ball Class.  Wow, talk about hard!  It is a GREAT class to teach balance, but oh my goodness, if you have balance or Ab issues, you will not be doing some of these exercises,  BUT you will giggle a lot!  Annette actually did quite well.  Her "core" has definitely gotten stronger...

Dinner was lovely.. We actually had another chance to visit with one of our new friends we met the other day.  This is her second year at the Ranch.. Last year, she was at a 35% physical fitness level.  Since then, she has lost 80 lbs. and has now tested at the 95% physical fitness level!  She looks awesome and is doing so well!  Great success story that shows what you can accomplish if motivated..

Annette surprised me with a bag of birthday "goodies" and the Ranch happily provided me with a chocolate birthday cake!! Yum!   The birthday celebration has definitely begun!  Arlene gave me the magnificent gift of a book that she has made that contains all my blogs!!  Can't wait to see it and re-visit all the great travel experiences of the last couple of years!!

And, of course, the evening would not be complete without our nightly spa massages!  We all come home totally relaxed and ready for bed!  Tonight, I experienced an Ahh Shiatsu Massage.  It's a wonderful deep tissue massage done with someone walking on your back.  It is a great skill.  Because of the weight they can get behind it, they can go much deeper into sore muscles and its more comfortable then working with the hands on those muscles.  There is only one place in the US that teaches the technique..  It was a great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  

We're all packed (we think) and ready for our 6:00am wake up. We're coming home with tons of great memories and experiences as well as some new friends we hope will stay in touch ..

We've changed our minds.  We're staying until the rains come in August!!

Still walking and laughing at Canyon Ranch

We are all having such a good time!  I lost 3 lbs this morning. The others are not yet divulging their

fantastic changes! I went to Aqua Shape and really enjoyed it. We all did Yoga Healthy Back (very worthwhile) and then I did stretching while Annette and Arlene hit TRX & Flex ( really difficult I heard)!  We then made time for a Demo lunch where the Chef made a really good crab sandwich using no mayonnaise.  He also taught us how to eat a cupcake--- an "ah ha!" moment!  You tear the cupcake In half and turn it upside down to make a cupcake "sandwich" with icing in the middle!

After lunch, taking a break from our exercise, we went to Terrarium Expressions where we made adorable, small (jelly jar size), terrariums... Then we are racing off to Pilates!  After that, we hit the gym and did machines and weights on our own!  Then Annette went off to to get a GREAT new haircut while Arlene and I just came back to the room and visited.  

After a really nice dinner (best one yet ) ---whole wheat pasta with lots of yummy stuff-- followed by Creme Brule for my roomies while I opted for a 90 calorie vanilla ice cream with delicious chocolate sauce!   

After dinner we headed for Bingo where a raucous time was had by all--- even if we didn't win!  Be sure to ask Arlene, when you see her about the "X" game of Bingo.....

We topped the night off with massages at the spa and had a golf cart drive us home!  Racing now to get to sleep since Arlene and Annette are doing a 6:30 am 4 mile hike tomorrow and I'm doing a 6:00-10:00 am hike and sketch and paint the Sonoran Dessert... 

Canyon Ranch, Tucson, AZ

So, what would YOU like to do?  Firm, tone and strengthen muscles? Lose weight? Relax and stretch? Hike and bike? Learn how to be a better photographer?  Talk to a Psychic? Sketch and paint the Sonoran Desert? Zumba?  Rope course? Desert drumming? Golf lessons?  Fire making? Make a terrarium? Or, veg at the Spa with facials, any kind of massage, make up lessons, etc.. You get the idea.  There is something here for everyone of any shape and of any age..  You can do nothing except enjoy the peace and solitude ( well, unless the three of us are around) and beauty of the resort, or you can schedule yourself to exhaustion.

 The food is very good and portion controlled.  You can see cooking demonstrations and eat what you've just watched the Chef make.  You can be busy every hour of the day, or do nothing...

Arlene, Annette and I only arrived last night and after our first full day we are totally exhausted. It's a good exhaustion--- where you feel like you are actually accomplishing something!   I took a bit of an easier course today than my two roomies who were at Fire Making at 7:00am.  I opted for an early start of 9:00 am with a lesson on golf putting.  I then advanced to Yoga stretching while Arlene and Annette did the cardio circuit.  We all headed to Zumba class after lunch.  Annette and I managed to squeeze in a make up appointment (if you do that class be prepared to "spend big"!). Their products are very good..  We all loved our 3 hour afternoon walk with an excellent photographer who showed us some wonderful basics with a G-11 camera they provide for the class.  It allows you to experiment with different settings and learn a lot of fun new things to try.  We ended the day with a fantastic massage appointment.  We were all so relaxed (and tired) that we called for the golf cart to take us home.

A word about "home"... Our room is lovely!  It's actually two bedrooms with a bathroom in between .  The first bedroom has one queen bed and as you walk past the bathroom to the other bedroom, you arrive in a little larger bedroom with two queen beds.  We all thought that two of us would be sharing a king bed, but we each have our own VERY comfy bed.   

The staff here are all very nice.  They are super helpful.  We met a lovely lady at the demo luncheon today who is here for the second time.  Since she was here last year, she has lost 80 pounds. She came this year to lose 20 more so she'll be at an even 100 lbs. in a year..We asked her about any tips for the resort.  She did say that you can order or ask for anything in the main dining room if you really do not like the menu choices-- sort of like a cruise ship!  I will hope to add more of our experiences tomorrow, so check back for the next great "adventures"!