Mar 30, 2013 - Benson, AZ....

We pulled out of Safford right at 12 noon which was checkout time here at Roper Lake. It was a lovely drive along Hwy 191 until we reached I-10, destination Benson, Az. We've been in this area before so we hadn't planned to stay but one night. But as the day progressed we decided it might be nice to do a bit of exploring before we moved on. In addition to that, the Passport America park we are at is $8.75 + tax per night for full hookups. Now that's tough to beat. It is quite close to the Interstate and the train tracks as well, but...

Mar 29, 2013 - Clifton...Part 2 of Byway

We arrived at the end of our 21 mile trip through the scenic Byway, turned left onto Hwy 191 and made our way the last few miles to Clifton which is nestled in the foothills at the bottom of the Coronado Trail. What a ton of history is to be found in this area! We visited the jail and the mine before finding a nice spot to enjoy our picnic lunch. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed a short stroll in the 'downtown' area before finally deciding we'd better head for home. We're pulling out in the morning, destination Benson for a couple...

Mar 29, 2013 - Black Hills Back Country Byway...

Today we traveled the 21-mile-long Black Hills Back Country Byway, accessed from U.S. Highway 191. The route is marked with mileage signs, with milepost 1 on the Safford side and milepost 21 on the Clifton side of the Byway. Near each end of the road there is a National Back Country Byway kiosk. These exhibits provided historical information about the byway, as well as information on road conditions and safety considerations. We learned that the first known inhabitants of the area were Native Americans. Mogollon people 1,000 years ago...

Mar 28, 2013 - Good times in Kat Kountry...

Can't believe our time here in Safford is coming to an end so quickly! What a great little city this has turned out to be. Very friendly folks and quite civic minded. We took a day trip on Tuesday (more on that later) but when we were on our way out of town Larry had the radio tuned to Kat Kountry 94.5. They were advertising the finale of the 8th Annual Gila Valley Idol, being held Wednesday evening at the Performing Arts Center right here in Safford. Tickets were $7 per person so we thought 'why not, sounds like fun!' And it was!!! Let me...

Mar 25, 2013 - Roper Lake State Park...

Talked to Mom last night and she asked "where are you"? Which made me realize that I haven't caught us up-to-date...We arrived at Roper Lake State Park on Friday about 4pm. It was an easy travel day and a beautiful drive as we made our way east on Hwy 60 to Globe and then south on Hwy 70 to Safford. Roper Lake has a stunning view of Mount Graham and 30 lake surface acres, a boat ramp, natural stone hot tub, a swimming beach, a day use island with picnic tables and grills, camping cabins and 3 campgrounds. We are camped in site 15 in the...

Nov 24, 2012 - Safford AZ - Walmart Parking Lot

After the Garmin lady took us on a wild goose chase through the desert here in Arizona, we spent the night in the Walmart parking lot in Safford AZ. Had to stop in Wilcox after leaving Safford so we could wash all the dust/sand off the camper. What a mess!

Mar 10, 2012 - Airstream Rally in Safford, AZ

Last year we had joined the Arizona Airstream Rally in Yuma and really enjoyed the group so we decided to join up with them in Safford this year. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces and catch up on everyone’s travels. The Saturday evening meal was the best ribs I think we have ever had. Sue then had a fun evening of playing "Joker". Our adventure here was to drive the Black Hills Back Country Byway. What a drive with tons of wildflowers and beautiful vistas. It was a gravel road for around 25 miles. At the end of the drive we...

Feb 1, 2012 - Move 'em out

We finally packed up and moved out of Globe. Well almost. Our first stop was less than two miles to the Besh-Ba-Gowah Archaeological Park. This park was amazing with not just ruins but reconstructed and preserved ruins. The reconstruction was done after the ruins were unearthed. Starting in the 1930's work began and was finally completed in the 1990's. The reconstruction used the actual stones that were found in the ruins. Hard to describe but it was amazing how people lived in the pre-Colombian times of the 1200's. We then did leave Globe...

May 8, 2010 - Roper Lake

Roper was a great weekend. We spent time in the natural Hot Springs Tub, rode to the Casino and won 600 bucks. Pam and Ken joined us for breakfast on the final day. Beautiful sunrise on the lake. The dogs loved it. A little warm in the day. Perfect at night. Great Ribeyes on the fire. Drank alot of wine too....

Apr 19, 2010 - Bowie, AZ to Los Cruces, NM

As we drove through Arizona on the Monday we recognized the signs from a winery/pecan shop we had tried to get to in January, so we stopped, they were open, and I came away with more nuts. It was a little tiny town on the highway called Bowie, and in the town we saw signs pointing to a Fort Bowie National Historical Site outside town. We had to drive about 18 miles into the hills (almost all of it was paved!), and then hike over one and 1/2 miles each way through the desert hills to get to the sight. Fortunately it was a cooler day. The...

Feb 16, 2010 - Roper Lake State Park, AZ

Surprisingly great! We plan to stay 16 Feb to 2 Mar. This is a rustic campground with amazing weather. A lake, snow capped peaks in the distance, natural hot spring and temperatures in the 70's everyday so far. See pictures above of Jack's daily adventures. Right here in our site he can have batting practice or go behind the RV to "the berm" for truck races & demolition derby (with snow capped peaks in the background). We've also had great bike rides to the lake to build sand castles and throw rocks. Feeding bread to the ducks at the lake...

Nov 27, 2009 - BLM Boondocking - Safford, AZ

Our first real boondocking after getting solar. Roper State Park was full!! We have been very lucky getting into any park, state, county or private that we want to. This was a first to be turned away. I think J.C. was tickled pink, so he got to really boondock. I am all for it too except the weather is going to turn nasty in a couple of days. We will play it by ear. In the meantime, we found a great spot not too far in off of Hwy 191. We are about 15 miles from Safford down a road called Tenque. It is all BLM. A fellow stopped by and told...