874 January 13, 2023 New Jeep, Desert, And Jets

I began Thursday with a nice walk.  I decided to avoid the noise of the main road and chose instead to walk on the parallel country road.  It was all good.  There were a few dogs but they all appeared to be behind sturdy fences.  I saw this sign on a property.

I checked maps and found a way to navigate back to the highway.  All at once, on that corner, there was an immense black shepherd.  The dog barked and looked menacing and looked loose.  I backed away slowly and rerouted myself.  The dog did not follow and all was well!

Tim decided to bike to town and called me to meet him at Oasis Coffee.  We split a delicious cappuccino sitting under the palms in the square.

We packed the Jeep for our overnight adventure and left after lunchtime.  This camping trip is only possible because everything fell into place while we were in Atlanta. When we bought the new Jeep, it did not have a roof rack that could accomodate our roof top tent. We left our tent in Maryland with Kyle. We ordered a new Gobi rack in September. It took 3 months to produce. We had thought that we would go home to receive the rack and pick up the tent. When Kyle and Allison decided to come for Christmas in Atlanta, Kyle offered to bring the tent to us in the back of his truck. We were able to change the delivery address for the rack and it was delevered in Atlanta on December 22nd just an hour before Kyle and Allsion arrived with the tent. Tim was able to install everything in time for our departure on January 3rd. We really wanted to have the tent before coming west. There are so many opportunites to camp on public land here in Arizona! Thank you Kyle and Allison!!

We drove to Access Gate 9 in the Barry Goldwater Range.  We wanted to travel across to Hat Mountain and find a camping spot there.  We noticed a change in the landscape.  There was a lot of tall, brittle, dry grass.  We knew this was not a safe area to have a campfire and so we continued to traverse the desert looking for the perfect site. 

There was a pass between the rocks.  As we approached, we could see that the road became very rough.  Tim got out to evaluate and he decided that we would not go any further. 

We retraced our route and settled in a campsite about 7 miles from 85. 

We watched lots of jets throughout the afternoon and into the night.  At times there were as many as 6 planes at a time; some across the highway and others in the tactical range to the east.   We were surrounded, though completely safe, in the protected zone.  We could hear the roar as the planes neared and we could hear a couple of bombs exploding; the sounds of freedom as our good friend Dean would say.  It was a little spooky and thrilling to watch the maneuvers particularly after dark.

After about 2 hours, the pilots turned in for the night.  We sat by the fire and watched the heavens light up with a zillion stars.  The moon had not yet risen and the sky was inky black; perfect for stargazing.  We were reminded of the song  “I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight with a million stars all around.”

I slept well zipped up in my sleeping bag.  The temperature dropped to 46 degrees at about 5am.  We didn’t wake up until 7:24. The day was already brightening.  Sun on my face, hot coffee in my belly, and the heat of the morning fire on my legs…it was a great start to the day.  The first jetfighters appeared at 8.

We packed our gear and then trekked into the desert, hiking just over a mile before turning back.

We had our breakfast when we got back to the Jeep and then we drove back to Ajo.  We unpacked and cleaned up and rested and showered and then went to town for lunch.  We had been looking forward to eating at Farmers Market but they closed early today.  We had simple paninis at the coffee shop. 

873 January 11, 2023 Desert Hike

Another lovely morning for a good walk to town and back.

After Tim finished a bike ride, we packed for another Jeep adventure.  Today we took the scenic loop here in Ajo.  As many times as we have been here, neither of us can recall having taken this road before.  The scenery was craggy and strewn with lots of cactus varieties.  The road was mostly tame with occasional rock obstacles.

We saw lots of potential tent camping sites with pretty desert views. 

For lunch, we drove south to Alamo Campground.  We had thought we might stay here Thursday evening in the tent and we were scoping out the possibilities.  It was fairly busy and the campground now operates on a reservation system.  They also no longer allow campfires.  No fire was a dealbreaker!  Even so it was a pleasant place to enjoy our picnic. 

After eating, we took the Alamo Canyon hike. 

The desert is extraordinarily green. 

There was running water in the wash. 

There was brittlebush blooming.

We sat for a while on a rock; just taking in the sights and the sound of the babbling water.

Desert bug; California bordered plant bug. These bugs live in canyons and suck juice from plants and seeds.

We could see evidence of an impressive rockslide in the middle of the trail.  As we made our way over the mess, we wondered what kind of rain might have pushed these large rocks down the hill?  What did that look like?  What did it sound like?

It was a great day!

We are planning to return to Gate 9 in the Barry Goldwater Range to camp tomorrow. We will post about our overland camping on Friday!

872 January 10, 2023 Jeeping In The Desert

I walked from the campground into Ajo and back this morning.  It was a little more than 4 miles.  The air was cool and it was cloudy so that I missed the warmth of the sun.  There are murals on lots of buildings in town.  These are two that I don’t think I have posted before.

After Tim finished his exercise and a bike ride, we packed the cooler and went to the Barry Goldwater Range north of Ajo.  The Barry Goldwater Range is a large military range.  It covers 1.7 million acres in southwestern Arizona.  It also contains about 2.7 million acres of restricted airspace.

We started at Gate 15.  We had to watch a safety video and obtain a permit to be able to enter.  The gates are secured with combination locks.  We were given the code and away we went!

This was our first desert ride in our new Jeep…the inaugural ride! 

We really love it here!  We took the road to its end and then hiked a short distance.

We traveled further on Route 85 and to Access Gate 9.  Here we found a great lunch spot.

A manmade water source for wildlife.  There were paw prints all around.

Teddy bear cholla.

Hat Mountain in the distance.

So lovely.

It was late afternoon as we started to leave the range.  We could hear jets practicing.  This is a training ground for warfare and target attacks utilize real weapons.  We stopped to watch maneuvers as the pilots dropped bombs in the tactical range across the road.  They then made steep climbs, rapidly ascending and then quickly disappearing from sight.  We watched 6 or 8 planes.  Not too many people get to witness that!

871 January 9, 2023 Ajo For The Week

I began the day with a nice walk on the Bridle Trail at Catalina State Park.  It was cool and crisp and then the sun rose over the Catalina Mountains. 

We drove to a nearby Tractor Supply Company to fill the RV with propane.  Finally, we were on our way south to Ajo. 

We took the scenic route on the Tucson-Ajo Highway through Tohono O’odham Nation.  It is a desolate and beautiful ride.

We arrived in late afternoon and we are camped for the week at Belly Acres.  We spent the remainder of the day doing laundry and setting up DISH and getting fresh drinking water.  Now that we will be in one place for the week, it was time to get organized and more settled. 

We love staying in this town and we are looking forward to some Jeeping, tent camping, and other fun stuff!

870 January 6-8, 2023 Fun In Tucson

We had a long day of driving on Friday.  We drove through El Paso and finally we were through the great state of Texas.  Woohoo!!!

The landscape in New Mexico was now desert with snow capped mountains in the distance. 

We stopped for the night at the Walmart in Las Cruces.  We used this opportunity to stock the RV with all of our staples.  We found a small Mexican restaurant, Que Paso, on the edge of the parking lot and had an okay dinner there.

We watched a gorgeous sunset over the mountains near the Walmart…really…it was pretty!  Then, the full Wolf moon rose.  We were up at 5:30 on Saturday morning and watched a bright red sunrise. 

We drove Saturday from Las Cruces to Tucson.  There were snow covered mountains in Arizona as well.

We were fortunate to find camping at Catalina State Park.  We got settled, baked some crab dip, and headed over to visit with our good friends Lee and Claudia.  We enjoyed wine and antelope burgers and wonderful fellowship.  The burgers were excellent!  If you ever get the chance to try antelope you have our strong recommendation!  And then, Claudia’s rum cake…with ice cream!

On Sunday, we met Lee and Claudia and took a picnic to Tucson Mountain Park.  I just love the saguaro cactus and it was such a pleasant day. 

That evening Claudia made another delicious meal for us, despite being a little under the weather.  We always look forward to our visit.  Lee and Claudia are great people and such gracious hosts.  We are hoping to have them join us for some adventures this spring and summer!

869 January 2-5, 2023 Adventure In 2023

We left Atlanta on January 2nd. We traveled through Georgia into Alabama and then Mississippi.

I found a Harvest Host site in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. It was a restaurant called The Shed. This BBQ joint sits right on the bayou. It must have started as a small place and it looks like it has been added onto rather haphazardly through the years. It is quite the collection of things…tubas, typewriters, old license plates. The BBQ chicken was good but not the best ever. The ambience is the thing. It was a mild evening and we sat outside in rocking chairs enjoying the balmy air.

We took a walk along the bayou and even thought we saw an alligator but it was just a fake head floating in the water. It was too cool and cloudy for real gators to be out.

Tuesday evening, Oliver lost his first tooth!

On Wednesday, we got some exercise in before driving west once again.

We drove through Louisiana.

It was a warm and sunny day. I like the ride on suspended highways on Route 10W through this low country. We crossed over the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge.

We entered Texas at MM 878. Texas is big!

There was a real alligator in the swamp behind the Texas Welcome Center.

We drove to Winnie and we stayed at the Winnie Stowell County Park where we have overnighted on many crosscountry trips. We walked as soon as we got there and watched the sun go down on our way back to the RV.

On Thursday morning, I walked to the Winnie Post office and back before we resumed our sprint across Texas. We drove all day and arrived in Sonora, Texas just before sundown.

Mike greeted us at the RV park entrance and guided us to our site. He encouraged us to walk the loop and take a look at his collection. We were surprised to see that he collects bricks! He was never a mason. He was a rancher for 40 years.

We walked to the nearby high school and did laps on the track in the stadium.

We hope to get near El Paso tomorrow.

868 December 5, 2022 – January 2, 2023 Fun Winter Break

We have had so much fun visiting with David and his family.  We spent the first weeks helping with house chores and preparing everything for the holidays.

The very first week, Austin had a stomach virus.

He helped Poppop build a new workout bench. All the loveys had to come to watch!

I was able to go and visit Austin’s classroom.  He showed me the work he was doing.  He showed me rhombuses and parallelograms and all sorts of other shapes.  He demonstrated his knowledge of the sounds the letters make.  He loved having me there and I was so happy to be there.

David and Dre were able to go to Oliver’s Celebration of Learning. The kids sang songs, did animal yoga, and presented their animal research projects.

Pajama day before break.

We decorated a gingerbread house and made gingerbread men.

Dre and I tried to make Oreo reindeer cookies with the kids.  It looked so very simple…why didn’t ours look like the ones we saw online?  Dre and I laughed so hard that we cried!

Apparently, they tasted good!

Tim and I took the boys shopping for gifts for Mama and Dada.  The little one really had a hard time understanding that we were buying for others.  This was the first time that they experienced this part of Christmas.  We took the boys out for dinner after our gift buying was done.

Beginning on the 21^st, the children were out of school.  David and I took them for haircuts and then we took them shopping for one another.  Austin picked a book about a gingerbread man for Ollie.  Oliver got a Lego book for his brother.  It was sweet to see them choose something and they were too excited to wait for Christmas to open their gifts.

On the 22^nd, Kyle, Allison, and my mother arrived after driving for 13 hours.  What a wonderful gift to be able to spend the holiday together!

Dre had to work but the rest of us went to Steinbeck’s for lunch. 

Kyle helped the boys to construct a gingerbread train that my sister, Debbie sent along.  The project was a huge success!

Allison made elf cookies with them. We all decorated with frosting and sprinkles galore. Thank you Aunt Debbie!

Kyle and Allison and David and Dre all went out for dinner.  Gigi, Tim, and I watched the boys.  Tim and I had a sleepover with the boys in Oliver’s room…making memories!

On the 24^th, Oliver and Austin completed the annual scavenger hunt.  At the end, they each got new Baby Yoda Lego pajamas to wear for Christmas morning.

Our Christmas Eve celebration was at Dre’s parents’ house.  Ines was so gracious to host everyone even though Jorge was in the hospital.

Christmas morning was a frenzy.  The boys were so happy and excited.  We only have one picture though of Austin sitting on his bike.

The day was spent making Legos.

We finished the day with crab dip by Allison and steaks and potatoes and asparagus and a toast to family.

The last of Peter’s cranberry pie!

Kyle and Allison left the day after Christmas.  Thank you so much for making this Christmas so very specia; for all of us!

We played dominoes with Gigi but not the Mexican Train rules! Mom stayed with us for one more day and then she met Dana and John for the other half of her Christmas adventure.

David and Dre both worked all week and so Tim and I watched the boys.  We played home and lovey world and Wild Kratts.  They both have wonderful imaginations and they get along so well.  Pretending is fun!

In this picture, Oliver is checking the feathers of a wounded peregrine falcon (Austin)…so dear.

We did more Legos and read books and watched movies. 

We took a hike in the “stream woods” stopping at “snack rock” for munchies.  The boys got home muddy and happy.

We all washed Popop’s Jeep and then the boys sat on the curb to watch the workmen reapir a busted waterline.

Helping with laundry.

We had a low-key New Year celebration.  New Years Day we baked turkey and had a feast.

It was hard to leave this week.  Everyone was sad.  The boys know that we will be back in the spring.

867 December 3-4, 2022 Stone Mountain Christmas

We left Lane Southern Orchards on Saturday morning.  We only had a short drive to Stone Mountain Campground just outside Atlanta.  We had planned to arrive on Monday…but we just couldn’t wait to see David and his family. 

Once we had settled into our campsite, we drove to go and see the kids.  They didn’t know we were coming and they were so incredibly happy!  We had a great visit and David made us dinner.

We went back to Stone Mountain for the night.  On Sunday afternoon, David and Dre and the boys came to visit us.  We had pumpkin chili for lunch and walked down to the lake. 

The best part of the day was our adventure at Stone Mountain Christmas. 

We took the Sky Ride to the top and looked at the view of Atlanta.

We played in the indoor playground and ropes course.  I had lots of fun climbing right along with the boys.  I did not take the slide down 3 stories but decided on the stairs!

We walked through the outdoor dinosaur park.

Then it was time for snacks.

We took the train around the mountain.

The lights were bright and colorful as we walked back through the park to the car.  It was a very fun day.

Tomorrow we are going to take the RV to a storage facility and then we will move into David’s until after the New Year.  I will take a break from publishing the blog until then.  May you have the happiest of holidays!

866 December 2, 2022 Lane Southern Orchards

We started the day with our usual exercise.  I walked more than 3 miles in and around the campground at Lake City.  It was 46 degrees and I had to put a sweatshirt on!  We actually had to use the furnace overnight.  We are in for a rude awakening!

Tim drove all morning; out of Florida and into Georgia.  We found a Harvest Host site in Fort Valley in Peach County.  Lane Southern Orchards is an extensive operation.  They are primarily peach and pecan growers. 

There are miles of orchards in the surrounding area. 

There is also a beautiful farm store with all sorts of preserves and dilly beans and pickled beets and syrups and nuts and too many other things to name.  As soon as you walk in the door you are met with the fragrance of sweet roasted pecans and your mouth begins to water.

We had a lot of fun shopping for all kinds of treats and gifts.

We rested for a short time and then I walked the property while Tim rode his bike. 

At dinnertime, we went back into the store and ordered pulled pork sandwiches.  It was nice enough to eat out on the porch.

One more walk as the sun set.

We really do enjoy these Harvest Host experiences.  We spend a lot of time in traditional campgrounds.  It is really fun to find a place that we would otherwise not even know about and to travel off the well-worn interstate to explore these treasures.

865 December 1, 2022 Lake City

I walked around the town of Frostproof this morning.  I walked all the way to Clinch Lake.

I saw sandhill cranes.

I saw a bald eagle flying overhead.

He then landed on the water tower where he sat for a long time.

We went in to see Mister Chris for a cup of coffee.  I had Brazilian which was smooth and rich.  Tim had Tanzanian coffee.  I know that it was stronger than our usual because my heart was pounding for awhile!

We enjoyed our short time in Frostproof. It is a quiet, gentle place.

Today was a driving day.  Tim drove more than 200 miles.  The first many miles were through a series of small towns.  Then past Legoland and Disney…someday I hope to bring the boys here.  Then we were on the turnpike with lots of traffic.  Finally onto 75N. It was here that we started to think about where we might spend the night. Campgrounds closer to Ocala and Gainesville were outrageously expensive.

We arrived in Lake City in midafternoon.  The campground is older but clean and well kept.  The laundry room was a great asset and I had all 4 machines going! 

I walked in the surrounding neighborhood between washing and drying.

We had a simple dinner; trying to clean out the freezer and the fridge.

We walked again after eating.