October 16-17, 2021

Ajo

Ajo Heights RV Park Ajo, Arizona

I began Saturday with a morning walk from the campground all the way into town, around the town square, and back. I had 4.5 miles. I am trying to challenge myself a little bit more.

This is an Arizona shade tree!

We had breakfast and then went into town to catch the car show and the Red and White Festival. This is a celebration that welcomes alumni. We looked at all the pretty cars.

Tim picked this beautifully restored 1965 Chevy C-10 Pickup as his “Best In Show.”

We got a mango snowball and watched the dancers perform.

Saturday afternoon we packed our lunch and took the Jeep past the old copper mine on Pipeline Road.

We found another perfect picnic spot.

It was 97 degrees in the RV when we got back. We put on the AC and rested. For dinner, we headed to Arriba where we had good food and even better service.

I was awake before 5 on Sunday. I watched the sky begin to lighten and made the decision to get up and watch the sunrise.

I repeated the walk into town, enjoying the mild morning. As I passed the grocery store, I startled a coyote and he slunk out and away from me.

Tim rode his bike into town and back. He took the time to see some of the newer murals.

This is one of my favorites here…a timely reminder and so important to understand in this part of the country.

It is Sunday and so Tim spent the day watching NASCAR and the Ravens. I did lots of chores and stuff…plenty to keep me busy!

I made my version of chicke pad thai for dinner. At sunset, we drove to the Ajo Mine Overlook.

We drove into town and walked around. The evening was gorgeous with a warm and gentle breeze.

We plan to go tomorrow take the Jeep into the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and do an overnight adventure in the remote portions of the Sonoran Desert. So look for our pictures on Tuesday!

October 14-15, 2021

Taking Care Of The Mothership

On Thursday morning I had an opportunity to take a good walk through Picacho Peak State Park. I made sure to do 4 miles because I wasn’t certain I would have a chance to be very active once we drove into Phoenix.

We had an appointment for engine service for Friday morning. We were hopeful when we arrived that they might be able to take us early…but Cummins was swamped. We were able to stay at Camp Cummins, an electric hookup site in the parking area.

Tim chose to get the RV washed and it was going to be a couple of hours before they could get to us. Tim asked if I had some shopping to do…I grabbed my pedicure flip flops and went in search of a salon. The RV and I were finished at the same time.

I spent the rest of Thursday relaxing and reading…a luxury for which I am truly grateful! We went out to get salads for our dinner. Later we went out again to get a few items from the grocery.

Friday morning we had to set an alarm to get up and ready. We only had to drive across the lot to drop off the coach.

Our first stop was to get a nice cup of pumpkin spice latte. Then we headed to Friendship Park to walk. I walked more than 4 miles. We had our breakfast at the park.

We waited most of the day at Cummins. They have a gazebo where we were able to stay. The day was beautiful and I had a book! We walked to the Taco Taco truck for lunch. The barilla quesadillas were amazing.

At 2pm we settled our bill and took off in the RV. She was clean and serviced and ready to go! We drove 80 miles south to the small town of Ajo. We spent some time here last winter and really liked the vibe of the place. We arrived after 5. The camp host told us there was a festival and car show in town this weekend. We drove into town in time to see the old cars and trucks coming out. They are supposed to be there again tomorrow. We took a short walk around the square. We are looking forward to spending some time here again.

October 13, 2021

Picacho Peak

Picacho Peak State Park Picacho, Arizona

My morning walk was along the sidewalks of Green Valley.

We traveled today just a short distance to Picacho.  The state park here is beautiful.  I love saguaro cactus.  We had lunch and then prepared for a hike.

We hiked a good portion of the Sunset Vista Trail.  It is a trail of moderate difficulty consisting of some loose rock with lots of ascending and descending steps.  It was a good hike and not too hard.  The day was gorgeous and the scenery equally so. 

This evening we packed our taco salads and took them to the Sunset Vista Trailhead.  We ate and watched the day come to an end. 

This was part of the Juan ….Looking out over the rather desolate landscape, it is hard to imagine settlers coming across the desert.  The lack of food and water and the rocky and dangerous landscape made this a very formidable challenge. 

October 12, 2021

Madera Canyon

Green Valley RV Park Green Valley, Arizona Day 2

Until 3 in the morning, the wind pummeled the RV.  It finally quelled and I was able to sleep.  I had to force myself to walk.  I was feeling quite irritable.  It was a nice and chilly autumn morning and walking does help to clear my mind and chase away the “grumpies.”

We saw a propane delivery guy working in the park and flagged him down.  He was kind and gracious and filled our tank.

We packed a picnic and drove to Madera Canyon.  It wasn’t long before we realized that we had been here before with Lee and Claudia.  The haze you see is dust. The wind storm last evening lifted the dirt off the desert floor and suspended it in the air. The air quality is unhealthy for susceptible individuals.

We had wanted to hike but the flu shot Tim got yesterday took the wind out of his sails. 

Instead, we took Proctor Road, a rough gravel road, to its end.

We didn’t even stop for a picnic but rather ate when we got back home.  I left Tim to nap and ran a few errands.

The best part of today was that I got to talk to both sons…a two-boy day!!!

I made quinoa bowls with raw spinach and roasted butternut squash and walnuts and goat cheese and grilled chicken with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.  It was such a yummy and satisfying fall dinner.

October 11, 2021

Green Valley

Green Valley RV Park Green Valley, Arizona

I walked around Patagonia Lake this morning.

This snake was laying by the road…I didn’t get close enough to see if he was alive. Not sure what kind he is.

We traveled again today but only about 60 miles. Our breakfast spot.

We needed a full service campgroud so that we could get laundry done. We set up and had clohtes in the washer within minutes. We left home 4 weeks ago and it was time for a major shopping trip. We started at Walmart. While we were there, we were able to get our flu shots. Later this afternoon we went to Safeway and Sprouts. We have everything we need for a little while! Now the clothes are clean and tomorrow we can play!

This is a 55 and older place; it is the first question they asked when I called to make a reservation. Apparently, lots of snowbirds come to Green Valley for the winter. This is actually a nice resort…but I am not sure how I feel about being in a senior living community. There are all kinds of activities and exercise classes and games and potlucks and dances and craft shows and clubs and all kinds of other stuff that happens as soon as the season begins.

We watched the weather this evening. It is supposed to snow in northern Arizona at higher elevations. Winter is coming here, we just plan to outrun it!

October 10, 2021

Chillin’

Patagonia Lake State Park Patagonia, Arizona

Another nice morning walk along the road to the vineyard.

There are grasshoppers everywhere. We don’t have many at home anymore. This beauty posed for a picture. It is a rainbow or painted grasshopper. When he flew off his wings flashed red.

We drove the RV to Patagonia where we made a stop to revisit the Fall Festival.  Today, I started my Christmas shopping!

We continued south to Patagonia Lake State Park. 

We didn’t do anything blogworthy today.  Tim watched NASCAR and football while I did some cooking and cleaning.  Sunday has become our rest day.

We had delicious sockeye salmon for dinner…Thanks Lee and Claudia.

Shout out to Curtis and his wife Janice.  Tim was happy to get to talk to you today!  We look forward to seeing you next time we are in the area!

October 9, 2021

Sonoita Vineyards

Sonoita Vineyards Elgin, Arizona

Last night the stars were glorious!  I wish I knew how to take pictures of the night sky.  As we lay in bed, we heard a pack of coyotes.  They were very close and then when they began howling again, they had moved further away.

I took my morning walk through grassland, past vineyards and farm fields.

W had only a short distance to travel to our next Harvest Host site; another vineyard just 4 miles away. 

We got set up and left to drive to the Patagonia Fall Festival.  There were well over 100 vendors.  Beautiful crafts of every sort and jams and honey and food trucks.  We walked through and, in another life, there would have been lots of stuff to buy and have and keep.  But our current life doesn’t allow for the accumulation of things…rather memories and pictures!  We bought Navajo Fry Bread stuffed with beans and cheese for our lunch.

We sat and listened to live music.

It was a pleasant way to spend the afternoon.  Patagonia is an interesting town. 

I saw a tarantula crossing the road today and later we saw a rattlesnake coiled in the road. We have seen several herds of pronghorn.

When we got back to the vineyard, we went in and bought a bottle of Syrah some smoked cheddar and crackers.  We sat on the patio in the soft breeze…simply enjoying the moment. 

We rested for a short time.  The winery closed at 4 and so we went back down and played some cornhole.

The sunset.

October 8, 2021

Twisted Union

Twisted Union Wine Company Elgin, Arizona

We have stayed at Catalina State Park before.  I love that it is nestled against the mountains, in a natural environment, with nice hiking trails, and at the same time it is just outside Tucson.  We could hear coyotes yipping on and off through the night.  There was lots of evidence of their presence…tracks and scat on the trail this morning. 

We don’t usually come to Arizona in the fall.  There has been a lot of rain and things look very different and very green.  This is a desert thorn-apple.  These plants are extremely (fatally) poisonous to both animals and people.

This is a blue swallowtail caterpillar.  

Someday that caterpillar will be a blue swallowtail butterfly.

We could only get one night at Catalina.  We started looking for other options and found a Harvest Host Winery in the town of Elgin.  We took 10E out of Tucson and then 83S to Elgin.  We traveled over gently rolling hills.

We stayed at the Twisted Union Wine Company in Sonoita Wine Country. 

After settling and resting a while, we went inside for a tasting.  We chose a bottle of Reign Check red wine, some cheddar biscuits, and provolone wrapped in prosciutto and took our afternoon snack out to the patio.  We met another couple and chatted about wine and travel and life.  We are not big drinkers and day drinking is NOT part of our usual routine, but I really wanted the full experience and I was not disappointed.

We are on a prairie at 4800 feet of elevation.  It was in the 80’s but there was a gentle breeze blowing all evening. I walked along the fence line.

We took our dinner outside and watched the sun change the color of the sky. We watched the tiny sliver of the moon and used the binoculars to see the shadows.

We saw Venus and then Saturn, using the Star Walk App to orient ourselves.

What a perfect Friday night date night!

October 5-7 2021

Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monument

Bonito Campground Flagstaff, Arizona

We woke up on the 5th and it was pouring rain. I had no desire to walk in the deluge and so we packed up and got ready to ride down the road.

We had plans to meet our good friends, Lee and Claudia, in a campground near Flagstaff. We traveled in rain for most of the morning and arrived shortly after noon. We arrived first and so we picked two adjacent sites. We were so happy to see friends and to share our evening meal, lots of stories, and good red wine!

On Saturday, the sky was clear. Claudia and I had a beautiful morning walk.

We all packed picnic lunches and then hopped in our Jeeps and took the loop road to Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. We walked a couple of short trails near the lava flow. This volcano erupted about 1,000 years ago. In fact all of the hills and mountains in the surrounding area were volcanoes.

We traveled on to Wupatki National Monument. We stopped to explore the Wukoki Pueblo. This particuar house was three stories and built on a huge rock formation. This allowed for the families who lived here to be out of harm’s way during flash floods and gave them an excellent viewpoint. This castle like structure was occupied in the 1,100’s.

We went on to Doney Mountain where we enjoyed our lunch. Afterward, we hiked up the cone and admired the view.

Wednesday evening, Lee and Claudia cooked for us. Alaskan sockeye and silver salmon…just delicious! We chatted until it was dark and we were too chilly.

Thursday morning, Claudia and I took another good walk, this time to the lava flow.

We said goodbye to Lee who was leaving for an elk hunt and Claudia hitched a ride with us to Tucson. We were so happy this meet up worked…to spend time with our kindred spirits. Lee and Claudia just spent the past six months traveling to Alaska and back. They also have children and young grandchildren and they totally get us! Until next time…fond farewell…what adventure awaits?!?

October 4, 2021

Alstrom Point

Antelope Point Campground Page, Arizona

My morning walk took me along the edge of Lake Powell. The water levels here are very low…154 feet below full. In 2011 the water was 107 feet down. In just the past year, the surface level of the lake is 50 feet lower than that.

We stayed an extra day here in Page…we were not sure how we were going to spend it. We tried to book a half day river rafting trip but they were sold out. I happened to notice a BLM office to the north and what looked like a bunch of 4WD trails. We went over the Glen Canyon Dam and into Utah.

At the BLM office, we were given a map to Alstrom Point…and off we went. The first part of our journey took us through some desolate muddy colored rock formations.

We took a side trip to Crosby Canyon.

This road led us to the edge of Lake Powell.

We both liked the look of this giant rock. We parked the Jeep and hiked around it.

Back on the main road and we saw these free range cattle. In such a harsh environment, it is hard to imagine what they find to eat.

We stopped for lunch on the crossroads to Alstrom Point. We were not sure if we were going to quit or continue. I showed Tim the map and the pictures…we couldn’t turn around yet.

It was only another 7 miles to the point and the pictures were so pretty…the last 2 miles took us a long time. The road was considerably rougher and required 4WD to climb the slick rock.

But the views when we got there were worth it!

The light was changing as we headed back, making everything glow.

We got back to Page at 5 o’clock, having put in a full day on the trail, we were tired and hungry. We stopped at the grocery for a few supplies and some ready made chicken and salads.

I always hate to turn around before the end of the trail…you never know what you might be missing…today I am glad we made the choice to get to the end!