Apr 30, 2013 - Southeastern Arizona

So where were we in April 2013? Upon leaving Silveridge we went to Tucson to have "Day and Nite" shades put in the RV. I love them. We visited many National Parks/Memorials/Sites, The pages that make up the Western Region of my "Passport To Your National Parks" have become so full I had to buy an additional book to continue collecting stamps at each NFS location. One of the most memorable for me was the Fort Bowie National Historic Site. We had to take a 8 mile dirt road to get to the parking lot. Then a 1.5 mile hike to see the site. Not...

Oct 22, 2011 - Heading south

We arrived at Elephant Butte State Park, NM early afternoon. We went directly to our favorite place to camp which is below the dam. There are no services and only 17 sites. The lake has lots of camping, we just prefer this quiet little area. As we were hoping, it was slow and we had our pick of sites. However, it was so empty because the Rio Grande was nearly dry here. This small camping area is a favorite for the local fisherman. It is so sad how low the water is. The lake is really low, so no water is being released into the Rio Grande...

Mar 23, 2011 - Rodeo, New Mexico (Rusty's RV Ranch)

March 23/11 We are on the move again towards our summer home. We just had to stop at Rusty’s RV Ranch to see Rusty and Tim, June and Bob. Nancy and Gordon were due back on Friday so we can see them again, and get a picture of Blip and Jazz. To bad the quilt shop in rodeo closed down. Photos (click images above): Some of the wildlife from the region. Campground Notes: P.A. $14.00 + 2.00(electricity)/night, E-50a/W/S, clay and sand pads, great wi-fi, easy satellite set-up, extremely quiet, amenities at least 40 to 60 minutes away, great laundry.

Nov 25, 2010 - Happy Thanksgiving 2010

If it's Thanksgiving, then this must be the annual Thanksgiving blog. Nevermind that I'm two stops behind in blogging our travels. What would Thanksgiving be without thinking of all that we have to be thankful for this year? Just another day in paradise, that's what. We've met a lot of new friends this year, and in spite of our aversion to the social aspects of this lifestyle, I am thankful. Each and every one of you have enriched my life. And to all my old friends (ok, maybe not old but gently used), I am happy you continue to be a part of...

Nov 8, 2010 - Leaving the Chiricahuas, For Now....

We had a leisurely morning planned, a short hike, lunner out, and then rig preparation this afternoon. Well, it didn't quite turn out that way. When we got into the truck to leave we discovered a flat tire. Doug walked down to the office to inquire about a tire store, Rusty's dad came by in his golf cart just laughing away. "I knew you'd be here before long. Hop in and we'll get the tools to change your tire." And that is what he did with Doug trying to perform step and fetch it duties. It took some doing but we got the flat off and the...

Nov 7, 2010 - Doddering in Absolute Beauty

Today we went back to Coronado NF and Cave Creek to continue exploring this absolutely awesome place. We stayed on the gravel roads and found Paradise; an old mining boomtown that exists today as residences for a few folks. There is a bed and breakfast out there designed for birders but we didn't go in. A couple has restored an old residence for this use. They live in a nice modern house nearby. We looped back into Portal and then back out to the place where we ate our picnic lunch on Friday to eat lunch today. Afterwards we walked about...

Nov 6, 2010 - Douglas AZ

Today we opted to visit a section of this area that we had not been to before. We decided to drive down to the border city of Douglas. Doug wanted to see it because it was named after him. We didn't expect much as the city's main source of income died off when the Queen Mine copper mine closed in Bisby. Douglas was where the ore was smelted and it was quite prosperous. Later, industry moved across the border into Aqua Prieta, Mexico hence impoverishing the once wealthy and mighty town of Douglas. So we expected to see a seedy decaying...

Nov 5, 2010 - More Cave Creek Canyon

It was another gorgeous fall day with just a nip in the air. We went back through Cave Creek to Herb Martyr picnic area and walked part of the Greenhouse trail. We were probably around 5000 feet and the road we were walking was up hill so Doug doddered along slowly. It was not as much a hike as a hikelet. Doug was only able to manage a quarter mile up the hill. After taking in the beauty and the silence of the mountain forest we doddered back down the hill. We drove to another area in the park and had lunch at the South Fork Picnic Ground....

Nov 4, 2010 - Cave Creek

JoAnn has always glowed when she is able to spend time in the woods. The same is true for the mountains and the desert. Its hard to imagine what she was like today; we were in a woods about 4500 feet up a mountainside in the middle of a desert. A triple whammy. She was ecstatic! It is hard to imagine this place called the Cave Creek Canyon area. It is just on the border of NM and AZ and actually in AZ. We were told to take an easy trail called Vista Point for about 200 yards and we did. We came out overlooking a place called Cathedral Rock...

Nov 3, 2010 - Rusty's RV Ranch

Home again in the desert! We had an easy drive from Los Cruces to a spot on the road between Rodeo NM and Portal AZ called Rusty's RV ranch. It has the "it" factor but is not for those who like swimming pools, Wally Worlds, movie theaters etc. This is located in between nowhere and anywhere. We do have full hook ups and wifi. It looks like we can get cell phone service when we plug into the cell phone antenna on the truck. It is known for birding. The sites are 200' long and spaced so that rigs can't be bunched up on top of each other....

Feb 20, 2010 - Rockin' and Rollin' in Rodeo

We had three beautiful sunny days here in the park until this morning and then the crazy weather hit. We woke up to a fairly strong wind and the toppers over our slideout were flapping like crazy. The wind got stronger, the dust started blowing, visibility was getting worse, and the toppers felt like they were going to rip right off the trailer. We tried to bring in the large slideout but it was too windy and the toppers wouldn’t roll up. We waited for a break in the gusts and were able to finally bring in both slides. The wind kept...

Feb 18, 2010 - Moving On

After 9 weeks in Benson we both agreed that it was time to move on. So we dusted off our departure checklist, packed up and started heading east. I guess we developed a case of “hitch itch.” It might be a bit early but the lore of the road was calling us. We’ll move slowly east with our eventual destination being the Texas hill country. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Benson SKP Park. The folks were very welcoming and there were plenty activities to keep us busy in the park. I guess we will have to get used to not having a club house...