Friday, May 28, 2004
Chaco Culture Natl Historical Park, Nageezi, NM - May 17-???
After some waiting while they removed a park service trailer that had been parked in "our" spot, we finally got settled in as campground hosts for a couple of months. If you haven't visited Chaco, it is well worth a visit. But you must be prepared for primitive camping conditions and a 16-mile very rough dirt road. The closest motels are in Farmington, Aztec, or Bloomfield, which are about 70 miles north. That's also the closest major shopping area. We are helping with the Night Sky Programs, held 2 or 3 times a week, depending on the number of people here (and of course on whether the sky is clear enough for viewing). They also set up a solar telescope several days a week. We are learning how to operate all of this equipment plus lots of other things pertaining to the history and operation of this park. None of our duties are particularly difficult, so it seems our time here will be quite enjoyable. It is a lovely location, with really special historic structures, petroglyphs and scenery.
We are more in "the boonies" than we have ever been before for such an extended stay. Our cell phone doesn't work unless we climb a nearby mesa and walk to the top of a rise. We can send/receive our emails by plugging into one of the ranger's phone lines. He is our supervisor for the Night Sky Program and is an all-round super person. All in all, we are meeting some really special & interesting people here, which is another major benefit of the job.We got here just in time for a lot of training and field trips, which are quite interesting. We have learned a lot about the NPS in general and Chaco in detail. The field trips are often into areas that are closed to the public, so we are feeling quite special.
We have been fortunate enough to have visits from two sets of friends from Boulder -- Patrick, Suzanne & Bryce Williamson for 2 days, and a few days later Mark Collier & Susan LeFever for 3 days. We enjoyed sharing our knowledge and the wonderful trails with them.Due to an unusually large amount of rain in April, Chaco is having one of its best crop of wildflowers in at least 20 years. There are fields of flowers every way you look. If you haven't visited here before, or if you have and it's time for a return visit, we would love to have you visit while we're here. We can put up guests with a tent in our space or can "save" a spot for you if you have a small RV or just want more privacy.
We feel we have forgotten to list many of the "new" birds we have spotted this year, so we are going to list them all now (non-birders just skip this paragraph). In Congress at North Ranch we saw a Western Screech Owl. At Cibola NWR near Blythe CA we saw Eurasian Collared-dove. Near Benson we saw Hammond's Flycatcher, Gray Hawk, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Scott's Oriole and Lucy's Warbler. In the Chiricahuas we saw Yellow-eyed Junco, Painted Redstart, Hutton's Vireo, Arizona Woodpecker and Black-throated Gray Warbler. Near Magdalena we saw Gray Vireo and Dusky Flycatcher. We have already seen more lifers than we saw all last year!
The cats are happy to be settled in for a while. They did NOT like the long bumpy ride into Chaco. It is nice to not be spending so much on gas also! Unfortunately, I don't think the price will go down any time soon, so we'll have to pay it eventually. The weather hasn't been really hot yet, so we are enjoying the cool mornings & evenings. I'm sure we will be using our air conditioner pretty soon.
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Enchanted Trails RV Resort, Albuquerque, NM - May 14-16
We planned a stay near Albuquerque (ABQ) so we could visit Doug's brother Bob and his girlfriend Paula. We enjoyed seeing where they live and admired all the remodeling Bob has done to the house. Of course, Bob cooked us an excellent gourmet meal in their newly finished (almost) kitchen. They took us to some interesting places in ABQ as well a couple of good restaurants -- one with wood-fired pizza and the other with excellent Greek food. We visited the Rio Grande Zoo and the historic Old Town area of ABQ.
On our own, we visited Petroglyph Natl Mon, which is just west of town. It consists of several different areas, and we started out at what they consider the main one. We hiked several short trails and saw some interesting petroglyphs but nothing as good as the ones we had seen near Deming. We tried to find a second area which was supposed to have a lot more to see but it seemed that the parking area had been displaced by urban sprawl. By that time we were so hot & tired that we decided to do our grocery shopping and head home. We have since learned that this area is very impressive indeed.Thursday, May 13, 2004
Western RV Park, Magdalena, NM - May 11-13
This was a Passport America park located behind a fairly cute little motel in the very small town of Magdalena. The camping area was basically a gravel parking lot with hookups and one of the brightest security lights we have ever seen. Our main reason for staying here was to visit the nearby Very Large Array Radio Telescope, which is an NSF facility. 
It is comprised of 27 movable parabolic antennas working in unison to make "pictures" of astronomical objects using radio waves. The signals are transmitted from the antennas, which are mounted on railroad tracks, into a computer to process the signals and create the images. It was a very interesting place to visit.Magdalena is a cute little town, which seems to be going through some renovation of its shops and houses.
We visited a very interesting wool processing shop, and an old-fashioned malt shop where we had a delicious snack of onion rings and a chocolate malt (served in the silver mixing container so we actually got about 3 servings!). The nearby Cibola Natl Forest has some lovely areas for hiking and camping, and we spent most of a day at the Water Canyon area hiking and birdwatching. They have a lovely no-hookup campground which would have accommodated us nicely had we known about it. It was free and had no security lights. Also in Water Canyon is the Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, which mainly studies the effects of lightning, hail and rain from the summer storms. Unfortunately, they were doing road construction, and the facility was not open to the public until later in the summer.Monday, May 10, 2004
Dreamcatcher SKP RV Park, Deming, NM - May 8-10
This is a very friendly SKP park right along the interstate in Deming. We were able to catch up on some "chores" here and also relax. We did one outing looking for petroglyphs located about 15 miles from town. Luckily, we had good instructions and some photos of the area, so we were able to find them without too much trouble. They were wonderful petroglyphs and were well worth the effort. Anthropologists who have studied them say that these petroglyphs were made by the Mogollon and Mimbres cultures between AD900 and AD1200.
Friday, May 7, 2004
Ft. Willcox RV Park, Willcox AZ - May 5-7
Finally tearing ourselves away from Benson, we managed to travel about 35 miles east to Willcox in order to visit the Chiricahua Mountains for a couple of days. We visited Chiricahua Natl Mon and drove their scenic loop, hiked on several beautiful trails and did some birdwatching. The next day we drove through a couple of canyons south of the Natl Monument, also looking for interesting birds and just enjoying the mountain scenery.
Willcox is home of Stout's Cider Mill which specializes in fresh, home-made apple pie. We had heard great things about their pies but were unimpressed. About all that was unusual was the fact that they put in so many apples that the pies are very tall. Quantity never makes up for quality in our book!
Also while here we got our first look at Comet NEAT, which has been visible for most of the month. Since our cg was on the Western edge of Willcox, we had very little light pollution from town.Friday, March 5, 2004
SKP Saguaro Co-Op, Benson, AZ - March 2-May 5
Now we are at the Benson co-op, where we have been for over a month (SORRY to be so slow at keeping in touch!). We have accomplished an amazing number of tasks on our "to-do" list while here. Maybe that is our "excuse" for not writing sooner. Plus just being caught up in the social whirl that exists in a place with so many organized activities. There is so much to do both within the park and in the surrounding area that it is hard to have a moment to ourselves.
In early March they had their Spring Fling weekend, this year with a Mardi Gras theme, which was quite enjoyable. The next weekend we had a visit from our Denver friend, Victoria Naman. We visited Saguaro Natl Park East, on the east side of Tucson on the edge of the Rincon Mtns, and Cochise Stronghold in the Dragoon Mtns, an area of fantastic rock formations where the Chiricahua Apaches under Cochise hid out while they fought to keep their homeland in the mid 1800s. We also found an excellent Thai restaurant in Tucson. We had a wonderful visit with her and were looking forward to our next time together. Tragically, we learned early this week that she passed away in her sleep on 4/2.
It is a great loss for us, and we will miss her greatly.We have visited the San Pedro Riparian area, about 40 miles south of here, for several birding activities and plan to visit a couple more times. They will be banding hummingbirds later this month. We saw them banding other birds in mid March. We have seen several new life species -- Gray Hawk, Scott's Oriole, Broad-billed Hummingbird, Lucy's Warbler, and Doug saw a Bell's Vireo. We joined Lainie Epstein (an excellent birder) several times trying to find a very rare Rufous-capped Warbler, reportedly seen in a nearby canyon. Others saw it, but none of us was lucky.
We continued with a bit more medical stuff, including an unexpected trip to the ER when Willie had an painful attack of what turned out to be diverticulitis. Quite an unpleasant experience, but hopefully it is over & done with and won't return!
We visited the Amerind Foundation in nearby Dragoon. This is a private anthropological and archaeological museum & research center dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories. In addition to enjoying the excellent museum, the grounds are also lovely for picnicking, birdwatching, or just relaxing. We also attended a hummingbird banding session sponsored by the Southeastern AZ Bird Observatory from Bisbee, which was held at the San Pedro House. The woman who runs this program is quite knowledgable (in fact she wrote the Peterson guide to hummingbirds), so it was a very interesting experience. Adding a little culture to our lives, we attended an all-Beethoven choral concert in Tucson one Sunday, with a dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant afterwards. It is nice to have Tucson so close to provide such "cosmopolitan" outings.
Our stay at the co-op was topped off by our actually being able to purchase a lot the Saturday before we left. Another mad dash to Tucson was involved in the financial details. We are hoping to change our rather unattractive bare gravel lot for a nicer casita later in the summer.
After we leave Benson, we will volunteer at Chaco Culture Natl Historic Park, just south of Farmington, NM, for about two months. This will be our first experience as long-term volunteers, and we are looking forward to it. We will be cg hosts and also help with the Night Sky programs. We should learn a lot. Keep this area in mind if you are planning an early summer camping trip. It's not the best road for an RV, but it's a great tenting spot.
The cats are all doing well (Gracie's special kidney diet has reversed her negative signs for early stage kidney disease). They especially enjoy it when we have a warm sunny day. They did not enjoy having our carpet cleaned -- they had to spend the day in their truck cages!!Monday, March 1, 2004
San Joachin Road BLM Boondocking, Tucson, AZ - Feb 25-Mar 1
We stopped here to do some SW Tucson sightseeing and meet up with Doug's two brothers who were both able to visit his dad at this time. As it turned out, we went to Doug's dad's house every day, sometimes to play golf (just Doug, not Willie -- she goes along to drive the cart!) and other times to just visit with everyone. We had an especially nice day of hiking with Doug's brother Rodger, which was quite special for both of us. 
We were able to visit Mission San Xavier del Bac one day and were quite pleasantly surprised. We have visited numerous early Spanish missions in TX and NM and been impressed by the outside, but San Xavier is not only impressive from without, the interior is truly stunning. Thursday, February 19, 2004
Organ Pipe Cactus Natl Mon, Lukeville, AZ - Feb 19-24
This is one of the best laid out and loveliest campgrounds we have ever seen in one of the loveliest areas of the country, and we enjoyed being here very much. There were many interesting ranger-led activities, including hikes, campfire talks, and van tours. We tried them all, plus several hikes on our own. Our new friends from the Boondockers, Tom & Deb, joined us here (or maybe we joined them!), and we enjoyed their company for many of the activities. 
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Desert Boondocking near Ajo, AZ - Feb 9-18
We boondocked just north of Ajo with the Escapees Boondockers and found them to be just as welcoming and enjoyable to camp with as the Boomers. There were lots of relaxing group activities: happy hour daily at 4 pm, several pot lucks, evening campfires, daily walking groups, crafting get-togethers, sing-alongs -- we even found some excellent bridge players to play a couple of games with. 
One of the group activities was to clean up trash along the side of the road leading back to town. The general consensus was that at least 90% of the trash we picked up were beer cans & bottles, most likely "deposited" by the side of the road by locals. This fact is all the more irritating when you realize that in order to get to that stretch of road from Ajo, you have to pass by the town's free dump.
The area was a nice area for group camping -- there were lots of places to walk and enjoy the desert views. We took several scenic drives around the Ajo area and attended an evening jam session in the tiny town of Why, about 20 miles away. We got an introduction to the hobby of geocaching (check out www.geocaching.com), although we never actually found a site. The one that we attempted (twice) turned out to be too difficult to reach without special climbing gear.Sunday, February 8, 2004
Southern Mesa RV Park, Yuma, AZ - Feb 2-8
This is a very basic but popular RV park about 9 miles south of town. It's popularity is mainly due to it's being one of the lower priced parks in town. There are many people who have spent many winters in this park, so it is quite a friendly place. It's fairly far south of town so there is no cell phone reception. There's a flock of chickens next door, and each morning starting around 2am we are serenaded by the roosters. We will not miss this when we leave!!
This is our first time in Yuma, and it is quite an unusual place. No matter how much we have been told of the farming, we were surprised at the vast fields of healthy crops and large citrus & date orchards. The fields are all perfectly flat with nice even rows stretching as far as the eye can see. Around the perimeter are sharp mountains, looking like someone plowed the large fields flat and pushed all the dirt out of town to the mountains. They're fairly distant and completely disappear in the dust of Yuma's famous wind storms (which happen several times a week). We went to a nearby Farmer's market and got wonderful produce for reasonable prices.
One of the main reasons for spending a week in Yuma has been to check out the various possibilities for camping, since this is one of the warmest places in the southwest in the winter. We looked at many RV parks, played duplicate bridge with a local group (came in third!!), and did some general sightseeing. We visited the Foothills area, which is a neighborhood with both houses & RV lots, which often has RV spaces for rent for reasonable amounts. We did a day of birdwatching at nearby wildlife areas, which also allow boondocking: Betty's Kitchen, Mittry Lake, Imperial Dam and the All American Canal. On the way home we stopped at Imperial Date Gardens for a date shake (delicious!) and some of the famous medjool dates.
We made a brief stop at the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park. This was the supply depot for the US Army to store & distribute supplies for all the military posts in AZ and also posts in NV, UT, NM & TX. The supplies were brought up the Colorado River by steamers from Port Isabel in Baja, Mexico. They supplied the forts from 1864 until 1883, when the arrival of the Southern Pacific RR took over distribution. The quartermaster's office is still standing as well as the commanding officer's quarters & several smaller structures. In the museum is a small piece of the original moveable wooden-plank road that was used to cross the Algodones Sand Dunes, a few miles west of here in CA. This plank road across the desert was used for 11 years, until they finally were able to have a paved highway.
We have to report that we are generally unimpressed with the area. Except for the slightly warmer temps, there's not much that would bring us back. The boondocking is pretty nice but no nicer than around Quartzsite. The best boondocking is fairly far from Yuma proper. All the boondocking is not what you'd call a "wilderness experience". Your neighbors are fairly close & it takes a lot of driving to get somewhat secluded.
We visited a childhood friend of Willie's mother, Evelyn Bolton, who has lived in Yuma for 12 years. She lives next door to her daughter but is able to pretty much live her own life. She gardens, takes a creative writing course, drives wherever she wants to go -- all at 88! She makes as many plans for "next year" as we do. It's nice to see there is an alternative to the unhappy life that Willie's Mom is living. It looks like keeping your health & mental abilities are key to having good options.
This is the farthest west we've been in our travels. We will start heading slowly eastward tomorrow, with a fairly long stop in Benson to catch up with medical appointments, complete taxes and visit with friends. The cats continue to do well despite the various strange living environments. I guess things seem pretty much the same to them despite the new locations. We look forward to hearing news from each of you.
This is our first time in Yuma, and it is quite an unusual place. No matter how much we have been told of the farming, we were surprised at the vast fields of healthy crops and large citrus & date orchards. The fields are all perfectly flat with nice even rows stretching as far as the eye can see. Around the perimeter are sharp mountains, looking like someone plowed the large fields flat and pushed all the dirt out of town to the mountains. They're fairly distant and completely disappear in the dust of Yuma's famous wind storms (which happen several times a week). We went to a nearby Farmer's market and got wonderful produce for reasonable prices.
One of the main reasons for spending a week in Yuma has been to check out the various possibilities for camping, since this is one of the warmest places in the southwest in the winter. We looked at many RV parks, played duplicate bridge with a local group (came in third!!), and did some general sightseeing. We visited the Foothills area, which is a neighborhood with both houses & RV lots, which often has RV spaces for rent for reasonable amounts. We did a day of birdwatching at nearby wildlife areas, which also allow boondocking: Betty's Kitchen, Mittry Lake, Imperial Dam and the All American Canal. On the way home we stopped at Imperial Date Gardens for a date shake (delicious!) and some of the famous medjool dates.
We made a brief stop at the Yuma Crossing State Historic Park. This was the supply depot for the US Army to store & distribute supplies for all the military posts in AZ and also posts in NV, UT, NM & TX. The supplies were brought up the Colorado River by steamers from Port Isabel in Baja, Mexico. They supplied the forts from 1864 until 1883, when the arrival of the Southern Pacific RR took over distribution. The quartermaster's office is still standing as well as the commanding officer's quarters & several smaller structures. In the museum is a small piece of the original moveable wooden-plank road that was used to cross the Algodones Sand Dunes, a few miles west of here in CA. This plank road across the desert was used for 11 years, until they finally were able to have a paved highway.
We have to report that we are generally unimpressed with the area. Except for the slightly warmer temps, there's not much that would bring us back. The boondocking is pretty nice but no nicer than around Quartzsite. The best boondocking is fairly far from Yuma proper. All the boondocking is not what you'd call a "wilderness experience". Your neighbors are fairly close & it takes a lot of driving to get somewhat secluded.
We visited a childhood friend of Willie's mother, Evelyn Bolton, who has lived in Yuma for 12 years. She lives next door to her daughter but is able to pretty much live her own life. She gardens, takes a creative writing course, drives wherever she wants to go -- all at 88! She makes as many plans for "next year" as we do. It's nice to see there is an alternative to the unhappy life that Willie's Mom is living. It looks like keeping your health & mental abilities are key to having good options.
This is the farthest west we've been in our travels. We will start heading slowly eastward tomorrow, with a fairly long stop in Benson to catch up with medical appointments, complete taxes and visit with friends. The cats continue to do well despite the various strange living environments. I guess things seem pretty much the same to them despite the new locations. We look forward to hearing news from each of you.
Sunday, February 1, 2004
Oxbow Lake CG, near Palo Verde, CA - Jan 30-Feb 1
We boondocked in this lovely BLM area just north of the Cibola NWR, giving us the unique opportunity to camp on the west side of the Colorado River but still be in AZ. This is possible because of the strange state line that follows the old river channel. There actually is some controversy as to whether we were in CA or AZ. We chose the location mainly because of its beauty and the ability to spend another day birding in the Refuge. Our site was right next to the Colo River,and we took lovely walks & drives along the banks.Thursday, January 29, 2004
"Boomerville", Quartzsite, AZ - Jan 18-29
The Boomer BOF (Birds of a Feather group of the Escapees) picks a fairly secluded spot about 5 miles outside Quartzsite for a two-week boondocking get-together in the desert. Even though over 150 Boomer rigs attended this year, there was so much room that it didn't feel crowded at all. We had a lovely saguaro & mesquite in "our yard".
Every year during the last two weeks of January, over one million visitors pass through this small AZ town (ever wonder how they come up with those numbers?). Included in those masses are literally thousands of vendors, artisans, and flim-flam artists single-mindedly trying to separate you from your money, in what is billed as the World's Largest Swap Meet. It is also the greatest demonstration of the viability of solar power, since many, if not most, of the RVs parked here draw their power exclusively from the sun. And it really works -- our panels provided us with enough power to live pretty much as we're accustomed, watching TV or entertaining guests every evening.There are swap meets everywhere in Q, some year-round while others just come for specific dates. They say "if it's made you can find it here". While not specifically true, the variety was amazing. Even more amazing was how much of it was JUNK! There were lots of rocks for the collectors -- not a wise hobby for a full-time RVer.
During the day we found plenty to do. There were numerous Boomer-sponsored activities, including Boomer Day and a bird-watching trip where we saw a new lifer: Eurasian Collared Dove (yes, they've made their way to the Colorado River). We took a day-trip back to Salome to retrieve our tardy mail, then drove up to the little town of Bouse. We had lunch at a mediocre restaurant (but the desserts were quite good), then took the scenic route back to Q. The terrain around Bouse is similar to Q, more scenic, actually, but since Bouse does not have the name, we saw less than a hundred RVs as we drove through the thousands of acres, quite a contrast to the hundreds of thousands of RVs blanketing the desert around Q.
Our most fascinating stop was at the Fisherman Intaglio. Intaglios (or more correctly geoglyphs) are a form of Native American rock art where lighter rocks are pressed into the darker desert surface to form a pattern, with additional marks scratched in the ground. The Fisherman, best seen from above, clearly shows a man holding a spear, while 2 fish swim below and the sun shines down above, and may illustrate the story of the god Kumastamho, who thrust a spear into the ground to form the Colorado River. There are a few remaining intaglios scattered around this area, due to the dry desert climate. The only other known intaglios are found in the Acama Desert of southern Peru & northern Chile. They are said to be 10,000 years old, and the fact that they have survived this long is almost miraculous, considering how fragile they are.Saturday, January 17, 2004
Desert Gem RV Park, Salome, AZ - Jan 13-17
We chose this smallish, pleasant Passport America park as a stepping off point for Quartzsite -- we don't like rushing headlong into anything before checking it out first. We squeezed into the last available spot; lucky us -- they parked the next rig at the dump station (gross!) and another dry-camping by the office. We utilized the time to stock up on staples and fill our fresh-water holding tank with potable drinking water (the water at Quartzsite is notoriously salty). We also drove to "Q" and checked out possible parking areas.
The park is actually in Harcuvar (from the Mohave aha, "water", and coobar, "there is very little") but advertises itself in Salome (pronounced suh-LOAM), two miles east. Salome was established in 1904 as a speculation of where the railroad would be, then moved 1 mile to its present location when the tracks were actually laid. Co-founder & local colorful character Dick Wick Hall achieved some level of fame with his one-page mimeographed newspaper "The Salome Sun" (a thinly veiled ad for his "Laughing Gas Station"), which hosted numerous fictional town residents, including the infamous Salome Frog ("seven years old & can't swim") and Mrs. Grace Salome Pratt, who took off her shoes & danced when the hot sand burned her feet; thus, "Salome -- Where She Danced".
Our stay coincided with the annual Salome Fiddle Fest, a 3-day celebration of bluegrass music. Performances took place in the local Lion's Club (levels of talent ranged from 1st-time performers in public to players in their 80s who started before they were ten), but we found some of the best music at the impromptu jam sessions outside the RVs. Once again we were blown away by the level of talent in a couple dozen musicians in a music festival hosted by a town of 1200 people. Willie especially enjoyed the expert yodeling performance by Les Reynolds, a regular "on the circuit".
Doug was amused to find his parents had ties with Salome: while on a cross-country trip their car broke down "nearby" and had to be towed to the only garage, and one of Doug's father's sisters used to spend the winter in a mobile home there. Small world.
The park is actually in Harcuvar (from the Mohave aha, "water", and coobar, "there is very little") but advertises itself in Salome (pronounced suh-LOAM), two miles east. Salome was established in 1904 as a speculation of where the railroad would be, then moved 1 mile to its present location when the tracks were actually laid. Co-founder & local colorful character Dick Wick Hall achieved some level of fame with his one-page mimeographed newspaper "The Salome Sun" (a thinly veiled ad for his "Laughing Gas Station"), which hosted numerous fictional town residents, including the infamous Salome Frog ("seven years old & can't swim") and Mrs. Grace Salome Pratt, who took off her shoes & danced when the hot sand burned her feet; thus, "Salome -- Where She Danced".
Our stay coincided with the annual Salome Fiddle Fest, a 3-day celebration of bluegrass music. Performances took place in the local Lion's Club (levels of talent ranged from 1st-time performers in public to players in their 80s who started before they were ten), but we found some of the best music at the impromptu jam sessions outside the RVs. Once again we were blown away by the level of talent in a couple dozen musicians in a music festival hosted by a town of 1200 people. Willie especially enjoyed the expert yodeling performance by Les Reynolds, a regular "on the circuit".
Doug was amused to find his parents had ties with Salome: while on a cross-country trip their car broke down "nearby" and had to be towed to the only garage, and one of Doug's father's sisters used to spend the winter in a mobile home there. Small world.
Monday, January 12, 2004
North Ranch SKP Park, Congress, AZ - Jan 4-12
This was our first time at this SKP Rainbow park. Congress is located just a little northwest of Wickenburg, about 60 miles west of Phoenix. This is a nice park with friendly people. It is the type of park where the residents own their sites (a deeded lot) rather than a co-op like the Benson park. The Escapee organization runs a campground on the site, but they are not directly connected. It is a strange relationship and also one that seems undesirable to us. There is somewhat a love/hate relationship between the Escapees Inc and the actual Escapee members who own at North Ranch.
There were GREAT Line Dance lessons every day, which we enjoyed very much. We actually have several new dances we can even remember!! The park is surrounded by desert, mostly BLM land, so there are miles of trails for hiking, biking and ATVing. We enjoyed a couple of miles of hiking one day, finding our way to the so-called "Lonesome Saguaro". In a desert garden area of the park, there was a Western Screech Owl that would sleep in a hole of a Saguaro Cactus. It was fun to see him sleeping there, though we never saw him out at night.
For anyone that thinks of AZ as all desert, you should have accompanied us on our drive from Congress to Prescott Valley to visit friends Jenny & Ed Williams & their 2 1/2 year old daughter Julia (who will be getting a new brother in April!!). This drive turned out to be more of an adventure than we thought due to the steep winding mountainous road between us & them, worse than any paved road we've been on in Colorado. On our way up we passed a Porsche club, one of who had recently slid over the edge, apparently unhurt. On our way down we had to ootch by a jack-knifed 18-wheeler who had ignored the 40-ft limit. It sure looked simple on the map!! The return trip after dark was literally breath-taking -- especially for Willie. Doug was concentrating so hard, he may not have been breathing at all.
About 20 miles away towards the northwest, we were able to take a much calmer drive and see Arizona's Joshua Tree Forest. These unusual "trees" are a tall and branched form of the Yucca/lily family that grow up to 30 ft tall.
The cats are doing well and are appreciating our slower rate of travel!!
There were GREAT Line Dance lessons every day, which we enjoyed very much. We actually have several new dances we can even remember!! The park is surrounded by desert, mostly BLM land, so there are miles of trails for hiking, biking and ATVing. We enjoyed a couple of miles of hiking one day, finding our way to the so-called "Lonesome Saguaro". In a desert garden area of the park, there was a Western Screech Owl that would sleep in a hole of a Saguaro Cactus. It was fun to see him sleeping there, though we never saw him out at night.For anyone that thinks of AZ as all desert, you should have accompanied us on our drive from Congress to Prescott Valley to visit friends Jenny & Ed Williams & their 2 1/2 year old daughter Julia (who will be getting a new brother in April!!). This drive turned out to be more of an adventure than we thought due to the steep winding mountainous road between us & them, worse than any paved road we've been on in Colorado. On our way up we passed a Porsche club, one of who had recently slid over the edge, apparently unhurt. On our way down we had to ootch by a jack-knifed 18-wheeler who had ignored the 40-ft limit. It sure looked simple on the map!! The return trip after dark was literally breath-taking -- especially for Willie. Doug was concentrating so hard, he may not have been breathing at all.
About 20 miles away towards the northwest, we were able to take a much calmer drive and see Arizona's Joshua Tree Forest. These unusual "trees" are a tall and branched form of the Yucca/lily family that grow up to 30 ft tall.The cats are doing well and are appreciating our slower rate of travel!!
Saturday, January 3, 2004
Santa Fe RV Park, Apache Junction, AZ - Jan 2-3
The initial reason for this stop was because our week at the cheap rates was up and we wanted to wait until Sunday to drive across Phoenix. It turned out that while here we could get together with Al and Donna Ellis, a couple with many similar interests staying in the area, who had been away the previous week due to a family emergency. We met them and had an enjoyable dinner at a Thai restaurant in Mesa -- or maybe Tempe -- we can't tell them apart!! We were also able to visit the Mesa Historical Museum and see a quilt display. We had tried to see this earlier with Pat & Dennis, but the museum was closed for the holidays (so we consoled ourselves with Thai food then, too). The quilts, some of which were antiques & others more artistic creations, were all lovely and inspiring.
