So what’s a “tontorican”?

Perhaps the time has come to explain a little about the origin of TONTORICANS. We came up with the name to describe ourselves, half-time residents of TONTO Basin, Arizona, and half-time residents of Costa RICA. You probably wouldn’t guess that from reading this blog since I have only focused on life in Costa Rica. So, here is a little about life in Tonto Basin. Tonto Basin, Arizona, is in Gila County about 83 miles or 1-1/2 hours from downtown Scottsdale. Although it is still desert, the temperature remains a little below that of the Valley and drops a great deal more at night. We’re live about 5 miles from Roosevelt Lake, on the east side of Tonto Creek. Because it is located in the Tonto National Forest with close proximity to the lake, Tonto Basin has become a popular destination for outdoor loving people, especially fishermen, hunters and ATV enthusiasts. There seems to be an ever-increasing number of retirees and weekenders settling down here. So how do we spend our time? Well, we like to garden and I had great success growing tomatoes this year, as well as several types of peppers (see photo). Our peach tree was fruitful and made a lot of local birds very happy. I think they are currently finishing off the grapes. The 2 apple trees had a few small fruits on them when we left. Nothing yet on the plum and nectarine – perhaps next year. We play shuffleboard at the Butcher Hook Saloon a few times a week and started playing every once in awhile at Cactus Flats as well. It’s common for friends and neighbors to get together for BBQs (see photo). There are also miles of dirt roads and trails for ATV riding. And of course there is the lake. It’s close enough to the Valley for a day trip and there is a modern motel, the Tonto Basin Inn, if you decide to spend more time here. There is also a grocery store, a hardware, and 2 gas stations. Several bait shops and restaurants. The town is still small enough to be friendly but large enough to accommodate most needs.

Making bridges

Record rainfall in late November on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast, where we live, washed out the bridge into Puerto Viejo. Puerto Viejo, a laid-back beach town, is a source of employment for many and also houses our closest ATM, favorite shops, beaches, bars and restaurants. The bridge connects the town to the outside world. The flood damage was extensive leaving the concrete structure listing at a 30 degree angle. Although crossing in motorized vehicles was impossible, locals positioned a 3-foot wide plank between the broken bridge and the road leading into town to allow pedestrians and bikes access (see photo, the green hose on side of bridge was bringing water into town). Within the week flooding had subsided substantially and construction crews built a temporary crossing along the beach edge so buses and cars could again travel freely to town. By the following week construction crews had installed a new “pre-fab” bridge over the original structure. The rapid response as well as the solution was impressive.

Ironically, during this same time period access to our home in Tonto Basin, Arizona, was also blocked due to flooding. Rains had caused Tonto Creek to raise isolating residents on the east side of the creek (our side). Unfortunately this creek is too wide for a “pre-fab” solution, so I guess our activities – wherever we are -- will continue to be at the whim of the rain gods.