What do you do for a ninety year old lady on her birthday?

                                     Take her to watch the sunset at Gates Pass and bring a little wine and cheese.

                               

God Bless Eva Jean! She was a truly amazing woman!

 She was a wonderful, pugnacious person, choir director and avid swimmer. Several friends and neighbors decided to host a sunset wine and cheese picnic for the birthday recognition.

DRIVING MISS GINNY TO GATES PASS:

Nonagenarian auto excursions. This wonderful friend celebrated here 90th birthday just  three days before these photos were taken. Ginny is a long time supporter, neighbor and friend. We miss her Bob. It was my honor to visit with him weeks before his passing and to present Bob with a copy of Tom Brockaw’s book The Greatest Generation.  These photos show a wonderful positive and energetic friend  at Gates Pass in the Tucsone Mountain preserve. We talked about cars we have owned on the way up to the pass and about the good people in our lives on the way back down.

OUR DEAR FRIEND VIRGINIA FINNEY HAD HER 90TH BIRTHDAY RECENTLY. WE ATTENDED A FUN PARTY AT TUCSON ESTATES AND A FEW DAYS LATER GINNY AND I WENT FOR A DRIVE TO GATES PASS. SHE TOLD ME OF THE 56 OLDS CONVERTIBLE THAT SHE DROVE AS A YOUNG MOTHER IN OHIO AND OF THE FRANKLIN THAT SHE AND BOB ONCE OWNED AND DROVE TO FRANKLIN SHOWS ALL OVER THE MIDWEST AND NORTH EAST. HERE IS TO ANOTHER WONDERFUL NONAGENARIAN .

SUNSET AT  THE PASS   http://emol.org/tucson/gatespass/

Gates Pass is located in the Tucson Mountains Park.

To get there, take the Speedway Boulevard exit west from I-10 in central Tucson. Speedway Boulevard will turn into a winding scenic twist up the Gates Pass Road. Twin Hills will be to your south and you will  pass the International Wildlife Museum http://www.thewildlifemuseum.org/  on your right. Just beyond the crest of the pass you will descend on a short switch back to Old Tucson Studios and the Sonoran Desert Museum.     http://www.desertmuseum.org/  

Turn right into the Gate Pass overlook. Be sure to time your trip for a sunset view. there is a Ramada a bathroom and a trail to an observation area above the Ramada. But with most of our group between the ages of 60 and 94 we set up our chairs at the base of the Ramada, Broke out the wine and cheese and toasted our nonagenarian friend.

When departing the parking lot be very careful pulling out into the narrow two lane road. There are amateur road racers, cyclists

http://tucsonbiketrails.wikispaces.com/Starr+Pass+-+Tucson+Mountain+Park of all kinds to share the road with.

Head west down a very narrow mountain pass road to the junction of Kinney Road and Gates Pass Road. Right will take you to the Sonoran Desert Museum, left to Old Tucson Studios http://www.oldtucson.com/ and out to Ajo Way, then left, east back into Tucson and I-19. Right at Ajo and Kinney takes you toward Kitt Peak observatories http://www.noao.edu/kpno/  Three Points, the Autobauhn for illegal entry to the US. Sells and Ajo are beyond Kitt Peak.