The Crouses

I spent two weeks (3/17 - 3/31) in Apache Junction (Phoenix) visiting with Jim and Sharon Crouse.  I was in the Air force with Jim from June 1958 thru May 1961.  We went through basic training together, Air Police School and then were stationed at Ramey AFB in Puerto Rico for two and one-half years.  In 2008 Sharon and I went to the Ramey AFB reunion that was held at Davis Monthan AFB in Tucson, AZ.  She got to meet Jim and his wife Sharon (confusing huh?) and we all got along famously.  Here's a picture of the Crouse House in Apache Junction, AZ.

Jim and Sharon are jewels and made me feel like a member of the family.  Sharon even insisted on doing my laundry (it didn't take much convincing) and either fixing me dinner or finding interesting places to eat out.  We did spend quite a bit of time at the American legion and the VFW.  One of our favorite lunch spots was the Mamoth Steak House that had a magnificent view of the Superstition Mountains.  On this day we were joined by Sharon's mom "Marge" and their daughter Sue.

On my last day in Apache Junction Jim and Sharon took me to lunch at Tortilla Flats, AZ.  This sounds like a Mexican food restaurant, but in the 1800's it was a stagecoach stop between Globe, AZ and Apache Junction.  The road between AJ and TF goes through part of the Superstition Mountains and the scenery was magnificent.  Here is a one shot of the scenery and one of the restaurant in TF.  For a better view of the pictures, just click or double click on them.

If you're interested click on this link for a few more pictures of Tortilla Flats and the scenery along the way:  Tortilla Flats

I departed Apache Junction headed for New Mexico at about 1:30 PM on March 31st.  The mountains on the way out of town are alive with wild flowers.