City of Rocks State Park

The wind howled every afternoon at City of Rocks State Park in New Mexico during our three day stay. Mornings and evenings, however, were quite pleasant with high temperatures in the 70’s and low temperatures in the high 40’s. 

We were in an electric campsite with water. Definitely living the high life. We had Reserve America reservations, but I’m writing a note to my future self that Sites 1-5 were first come, first served with a two week maximum. On to the rock pics:

We hiked each morning, going up to Table Top Mountain twice 

Top of the Table.

and the Hydra trail around the perimeter of the property.

Sunsets were spectacular. One late afternoon we took a bottle of wine to Observation Point to watch the action. 

Yes, we would come back here again—even during the windy spring.

Eastern New Mexico

 We are on the road again for a longer trip to test out Lance trailer systems on our new-to-us travel trailer. Very windy here. 50 mph gusts on our first day.

Only one bar of service so more later.

Spring Flowers and Wildlife

During my time in Arizona over the past 9 months, I've seen many Saguaro cacti.  This one, we see almost every day on our daily walk.

Cool Old Dude

Normally, from what I've been told, the Saguaro don't flower until later in the year.  With the exceptionally warm winter we've had and recent dry conditions, the flowers have arrived.

The Saguaro flowers are on full display for a very short time. Meanwhile, the prickly pear bloom has been prolific.

We saw another western diamondback last week, stretched out on the edge of the sidewalk.  I think he was waiting for us to go by, but we waited him out, and eventually he slowly crossed ahead of us.  

Some of the wildlife has been next door.  

Bobcat 

And some of the wildlife has been at the front door.

Kids playing Ring and Ditch

April in the Tucson area has been much more pleasant than March was.  Temps have been in the upper 80's and low 90's, but nothing like the record-breaking 100 degree days earlier in the year.  Nights have been amazing with the windows open and lows in the 50's.  Before too long though, we are going to head into the high country with the Lance.  We may need sweaters and jackets.  That would be a real change!

Catalina State Park

 Visitor season is over, and it’s time for camping.

Leaving Storage

Like most camping trailers, there have been a few mechanical issues to sort out. The fridge is bigger, a lot more technologically advanced than the small Scamp fridge, and still not working right in the 90 degree Arizona desert. 

But we won’t let those issues prevent us from having fun at Catalina State Park, which is only fifteen minutes from home.

Tonight there was live music at the park, playing the hits from the 60s and 70s.

Not a late night. We were back at the campsite in time to watch Mount Lemmon turn pink.

Early April Report

Michael reminded me that I haven't posted for awhile, and he was right.  Visitor season has kept us quite occupied with only a couple of days between a series of guests from Wisconsin.  Our current guest is one of my favorites:  a friend that Julia met in pickleball from Wisconsin, who is a retired forensics police officer with lots of homicide case experience.  She is quiet, thoughtful, and very detail-minded.  Very interesting person.  But even so, it will be some relief when Julia drives her to Phoenix on Wednesday, and visitor season for us in Arizona will be over.  Next year, we've agreed there will be fewer visitors for different reasons.  Some of our visitors just plain didn't like the desert and missed the green/water of the Midwest.  Others will return but probably not for a couple of years.  They wanted to see where we landed, and now they have.

My pickleball season ended without a trip to the state tournament, but that's okay.  It was fun, and our team was competitive at a high level. Some members of our team competed on another team at a lower level and won the state championship in Phoenix (Arizona Players Pickleball League), but that's just not how I'm wired.  I like to go against players better than I am; for me, it's the only way I improve.

We have a few nights reserved in Silver City, New Mexico at the end of April.  We will do a trial run with the Lance camper, and if successful, stay for a few weeks to beat the heat. Then we will come back for a month before leaving on our summer's journey to the Upper Midwest.  I owe my Mom a trip to Iowa, and we will spend some time in Wisconsin also.  Depending on how the Lance is doing, we may take our time heading back home.  Julia has never been to Yellowstone, and I love Wyoming after Labor Day. We have a neighbor who doesn't like to travel, so she will keep an eye on our house while we're gone.

Windy Point, Mount Lemmon

Next weekend is the 41st Annual Tucson Folk Festival, a free event for the community.  There will be a lot of music and a songwriting competition.  We are looking forward to attending.