Cold Front!

 

Tuesday was another play day.  Bill and I, along with our friends Rich and Ronda, visited the Amerind Museum near Dragoon, AZ.  Once again, we used our Tucson Passport and saved 50% on entrance fees.

The museum is in Texas Canyon and sits among beautiful rock formations.  We toured the museum, as well as the Art Gallery next door.  We enjoyed our visit very much.  The museum contained some beautiful artifacts of the American Indians, including baskets, pottery, tools, etc.  They also have a beautiful display of Navajo blankets.

Photos are not permitted in the museum or art gallery; however, they have posted some nice pictures on their web page.  Photos are allowed outside, but it had gotten too cold to take many.

The museum is housed on property purchased by William Shirley Fulton, who was from Connecticut but moved to Texas Canyon after visiting and falling in love with Arizona.

When we left the museum, we noticed the outside temperature had dropped, and the wind had really picked up.  Here comes the cold front that was predicted.

It was lunch time, and we headed to Big Tex BBQ in Willcox, AZ.  The smell was amazing as we walked up to the train car that houses the restaurant.  We all had the brisket sandwich, and it was very good.  If you are ever near Willcox, AZ on I-10 and have a hankering for some good BBQ, you need to visit Big Tex BBQ.

 

When we stepped out after lunch, the cold front was upon us!  The wind was howling, and Bill and I were glad we were not pulling the rig today.  As we headed back towards Benson, it began to snow...not a lot, but it was still snow.

 

By the time we got home, the winds had died down, the clouds were disappearing, and the sun was trying to break through.  But here's proof that it really did snow.

 

The Countdown Has Begun!

Just six weeks until we head north to Yellowstone for our summer jobs.  Time to start marking items off of our to-do list.  On Sunday afternoon, we hooked-up the fiver and pulled over to Lazy Days RV Park in Tucson.  We had an 8:00 am service appointment on Monday at La Mesa RV, which is just across the street from Lazy Days.  We aren't having any problems with the Cameo, just doing the annual brake check and repacking of the wheel bearings.  Bill is a stickler when it comes to maintenance, and I never complain.  In all of our travels, we've never been stranded on the side of the road.  (Knock on wood!)

After the rig has sat for a while, I'm always concerned that something won't work right, whether it be the slide outs or the auto landing gear.  I am happy to say everything worked beautifully.  It felt so good to be pulling her down the road.

Most of you probably know that Lazy Days is a huge RV dealer in Seffner, Florida, near Tampa.  These folks purchased the property in Tucson that was once Beaudry RV, before they became part of the many bankrupt RV dealers.  The Lazy Days RV Park is very nice, and we enjoyed our one night stay.  After getting set up on our site, we walked to the sales lot and took a look at a few rigs.  I am happy to say I still love my Cameo!

After dropping the rig off at La Mesa, Bill and I killed two birds with one stone by going to a couple of doctor appointments and doing a little shopping.  During lunch, we received the phone call that the rig was ready to go.

I read a few RV forums on-line, and it appears many people do not like La Mesa.  I can only speak from our experience, but we have been very pleased with La Mesa in Tucson.  They treated us well during the sale, and more importantly, they have treated us well on the service side. 

We hooked-up and headed back to Benson.  As we were heading down I-10, Bill and I looked at each other and said, "Let's just keep going!"  But, being the responsible people we are, we headed back to our site at Cochise Terrace...some of us have to go to work on Wednesday.  : )

Another Great Weekend!

Bill and I are enjoying our stay in Arizona.  We are taking advantage of the great weather and getting out and seeing Arizona.

On Sunday afternoon, we visited Kartchner Caverns State Park.  Yes, I know, I work there four days a week, and although I was able to take the tours last year as an employee, Bill had never visited the cave.  So, on Sunday afternoon, we took both cave tours.  It was a lot of fun being a tourist and watching Bill enjoy the tours.  Kartchner Caverns State Park is BIG on preserving the cave, and as a result no cameras are permitted.  Therefore, I have no pictures to share with you.  But trust me...if you are ever in Benson, AZ, make sure you visit Kartchner Caverns State Park.  They even have a nice campground with electric hook-ups.

Monday was tax day...ugh!  We loaded Turbo Tax and got much of our information input.  Once we receive a few more documents in the mail, we can finish and get the return filed.

 

Today was a fun day.  We once again used our Arizona Passport and visited the Pima Air and Space Museum.   Our timing was pretty good.  We got to the museum at 1:15, and the free tour of Hanger 1 was beginning at 1:30.  We walked around a few minutes before joining the tour.


Our tour guide was Bill, a retired Naval Aviator and a veteran of the Korean war.  He is the man in the dark shirt and khaki pants.  My Bill is the one in cowboy hat.  : )

 

It was one of the best history lessons I've ever had.  We saw a plethora of aircraft, including a B29, DC3, Huey helicopter, Apache helicopter and lots more.  I'm so glad we took the tour.  I am not an airplane guru, so I would have gotten bored after looking at a few aircraft.  Our tour guide, Bill, kept it so interesting, we stayed with him during his second tour of Hangers 3 and 4.


Here are a few pictures from the tours:

This B29 was among the many aircraft that flew over when Japan was signing their surrender papers.  General Douglas MacAuthur wanted to make sure Japan knew who won the war.  : )
It was also a B29 that dropped the atomic bombs in Japan.

I felt like we were in a toy shop full of remote control airplanes.

This Cobra Gun Ship is only 36 inches wide.

And this is the type of plane Tom Cruise flew in the movie, 
Top Gun.

After our hangar tours, Bill and I went outside to take a look at more airplanes.

What first got my attention was the shear size of these airplanes.  I've seen movies where some of these type planes are shown, but I never appreciated their immense size until I saw them in person today.  I was also impressed with the technology that was being used back in the 1960s.

I have always had a respect for our veterans.  But after seeing these aircraft, hearing the stories, and meeting a Korean war veteran, my respect and appreciation has only grown.

If you ever have the opportunity to visit the Pima Air and Space Museum, please do.

Picacho Peak State Park - Day Two

Bill and I knew today's hike was going to be a tough one so we wanted to hit the trail by 9:00.  Well, after coffee, breakfast, and clean up, we made it to the trailhead at 9:45, not too bad.

There are two trails which lead to the top of Picacho Peak.  We opted for the Sunset Trail, a 3.1 mile trek to the top.  The first two miles are rated moderate, while the last mile or so is rated strenuous.

Bill and I hike a lot, and on some of our hikes I have often wished for the abilities of a mountain goat.  However, this is the first hike where I wished I had the abilities of Spiderman.  Did you know it is possible to scale the face of a rock wall?  Just keep reading....

The trail started out simply enough.  We hiked through a "forest" of saguaro, barrel cactus, and chollo cactus.  It was beautiful!  And, of course, the humming of the Border Patrol helicopter just adds to the southern Arizona hiking experience.  : )

 

 

 

 

  

As we expected, the trail became a little more difficult.  First, we had some switchbacks to climb.  Then, we came to the first cables, and these cables were almost vertical.

 

Bill went first, and then I followed.  We both made it just fine, although we were breathing pretty hard.  From there, the trail got even more interesting.  I'll let these pictures speak for themselves.

 

 

 

 

Our efforts paid off!  We made it to the top!  Here's a picture of the campground.  See that blue speck in the southeast corner?  That's our tent!

 The view was pretty nice!

 

And Bill got all theatrical on me.  When we reached the top, he stood on this rock and sang out, "Somebody left the gate open!"  (You have seen that commercial on TV, right?)

We have hiked using cables before in Arches and Zion National Parks.  But this hike to Picacho Peak is the most extreme hiking experience we have endured.  Man, what a hike!

Picacho Peak State Park - Day 1

Bill and I have just returned from a great weekend camping in Picacho Peak State Park.  Picacho is the Spanish word for peak, so in essence, we camped at Peak Peak State Park.  : )   

Picacho Peak is located just off I-10, about 40 miles west of Tucson, and we have driven by it many times, going to and from Benson.  We took advantage of this beautiful, perfect weather, loaded up the tenting gear and headed out Sunday after church.

Based on the park's website, there were plenty of campsites available so we didn't bother making a reservation.  When we arrived at the entry gate, the attendant asked if we wanted to be near the bathroom and showers, since we were camping in a tent.  Well, I like being "near" the bathroom but not right on top of it.  The site she gave us provided a wonderful view...of the bath house.  Normally, Bill and I take the site we are given and make the best of it.  But when tent camping, we spend all of our time outside, and I really didn't want to be looking at the bathroom all weekend.

We drove the loops and headed back to the gate and requested site A13.  Fortunately, the site was available for two nights. 

 

Granted, we were about as far away from the bathroom as we could get, but at least we had nice view of Little Black Mountain and the saguaro cactus dotting the landscape.

 

 

 

One of the main attractions of this park is the hiking, especially hiking to the top of Picacho Peak.  We had read about the hike, about the cables used and the recommendation of wearing gloves.  Here is Bill looking at the peak with his binoculars, just trying to figure out how we will get up there.  Picacho Peak is the peak on the left.  It may not look like it in this picture, but that peak is much higher than the peak to the right of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before dinner, we drove down to the "Sunset Loop" and waited for the sunset.  We had hoped to get one of those amazing Arizona sunsets, and we were not disappointed.

Afterwards, we went back to the campsite where Bill grilled some bratwursts for supper, before we settled in with a campfire and a good night's sleep.  Picacho Peak awaits!

In Search of Ghost Towns

Today Bill and I went along with Rich and Ronda to visit some Arizona ghost towns in the Patagonia Mountains.  It was a beautiful day for a drive, and since Rich and Ronda have a Jeep, we weren't worried so much about the condition of the Forest Service roads.

The first stop we came to was Harshaw, AZ.  This town was established in April 1880, and the Post Office closed in March 1903.  The town grew up around the Hermosa Mine, a silver ore mining operation.  At one time there were over 200 buildings in town.

Now, however, there is a big "private property" sign on the road that enters Harshaw.  We had to be content to visit the town cemetery across the street, where most of the graves dated back to the 1800's.

 

According to Ronda's 4x4 Guide Book, our next stop should have been the town of Mowry.  You noticed I said "should have been."  We were driving along, when we finally came to some road signs.  The signs indicated Mowry was five miles behind us.  Apparently we past it without realizing it.  To make matters worse, we had gone way off our planned route.  We studied the signs and determined which way we should proceed.


We were driving through a beautiful part of Arizona heading to our next town, Lochiel.

 

 

After a few miles, we come to a fork in the road.  There is a big sign giving the direction to lots of different ranches, but nothing about Lochiel.  Finally, a Border Patrol agent pulls up alongside us and asks if we need directions.  (Speaking of Border Patrol agents, they were all over the place...in vehicles and helicopters.)  The agent was very friendly and gave us directions, and we continued on.  We had to make two turns.  When we got to the second turn, our Border Patrol agent was parked on the corner.  He was standing outside his car pointing the way we were to turn.  I guess he didn't want a car load of gringos getting lost on his watch.  : )

The town of Lochiel is very close to the Mexican border.  In fact, we could see the border fence off and on as we drove along.  There was an active post office in Lochiel from August 1880 until September 1911, and the town had 2 smelters, 3 saloons, a butcher, a bakery, livery stables and 5 stores.  Lochiel was also a favorite place of Pancho Villa to steal cattle and take across the border back into Mexico.

Today's main attraction was the one room school house.

 

The school was locked, but I was able to get a pretty good picture through the window.

 

Our next point of interest was the town of Duquesne.  There were many dilapidated buildings, but everything had big "NO TRESPASSING" signs on them.  Like the other towns, Duquesne was also a mining town.  Here is a remnant of the mining past.

 

The final town listed for today's drive was Washington Camp.  We did not see any old buildings, dilapidated or not, but we did see this sign posted at the entrance of someone's property.

Now it was lunch time.  We found a nice area to pull off the road and enjoyed our picnic with a beautiful view.

 After lunch, we were back in the Jeep and heading on down the road towards home.

 Wow!  Another fun day of exploring southern Arizona. 

Moving Right Along

Our friends, Phil and Victoria, pulled out today, heading to explore other parts of Arizona.  We went out for pizza last night and then back to their rig for some delicious lemon bars Victoria made.  We said our good-byes and look forward to seeing them again this summer.

Speaking of this summer, Bill and I have received our Yellowstone job assignments.  This year I have been given the opportunity to be Campground Manager at Canyon Campground.  We have never worked at Canyon, although we did camp there a few times last summer.  We are excited about this opportunity.  We will be working with good friends and expect to have a great summer!

Canyon Campground is the most centrally located campground in Yellowstone.  We are located within Canyon Village where there are restaurants, a National Park Visitor Center, and a General Store.  And, as the name implies, we are very close to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.  The location is just about perfect.  Just a few miles south is Hayden Valley, and to the north is Lamar Valley.  These two valleys are the BEST for wildlife viewing!

The only drawback to Canyon is the short season.  We are opened from the first of June until just after Labor Day.  However, my work season is extended by doing some preseason training.  I trained Guest Service Agents (GSAs) back in 2009 and look forward to doing it again.  As a Trainer, my report date is April 10.

Bill and I LOVE getting to Yellowstone early.  The wildlife viewing is incredible.  I just hope and pray we don't as much snow as we did last year.  : )

My job at Kartchner Caverns continues to go well.  And the Arizona weather has been great!  In fact, if the forecast holds true, we may find ourselves camping next weekend.   Stay tuned!