2025 Airstream Travels

The day is forecast for sunny skies, light winds, and temperatures around 62 degrees. We took a morning walk around the campground for some exercise and to check it out. I don’t think we’ll find another campground with the sites that are spread out as much as this one. At our site, we have no one behind us, on either side for hundreds of feet, and our closest neighbor is across the road. It’s electric and water only but they have a dump station and there are several restroom facilities with showers in the camp. It’s so quiet here too that we rarely hear anyone talking or any noise at all. The most people we see are on the trails when we are out hiking.

One night we heard coyotes near our camper and last night, we heard what sounded like a Great Horned Owl. We plan to walk around the campground tonight around dusk to see if we can see it or another owl.

Our site is huge with a concrete picnic table and fire ring. The only downside is a curb that separates where we park with the site, so you have to careful to not trip over it and do a face plant. There are spectacular views all around with the desert in the foreground and mountains in the background nearly 360 degrees around the campgrounds. They have over 50 miles in trails here and from what we see, they are all well maintained. The County of Maricopa is to be commended for this park and what a benefit it is for people who enjoy it and the wildlife who inhabit it.

The nearest town is Fountain Hills and from appearances, is a higher income area. They have a city center park with a pond and a huge fountain that at its fullest height is 560 feet, higher than the Washington Monument, and 10 feet taller than Notre Dame Cathedral. We can see it from our campsite which is over 5 miles from it.

Ron took the Lectric bike on the trails again today, had a blast traveling through the desert. He found a good trail for us to hike after I am done working for the day. It starts at the upper end of the campgrounds, travels north before we turn west on Stoneman’s Wash Trail. We go west for about a mile in the wash, turning south to get back to the campgrounds. The wash is a waterway when the monsoon season starts and can fill up quickly if a flash flood occurs. It has a sandy base making it soft to walk on but when Ron tried to take the bike, it bogs down.

After supper, we decided to check out the playground here with its unique equipment. Ron also took his metal detecting pin-pointer in hopes of finding something interesting. Not much in metal detecting, but I think kids may like the slide which is a giant rattlesnake and a huge saguaro for climbing on.

We got 5 miles in on hiking today and decided since Justice has twice as many legs as we do, he must have walked 10 miles. He was one tired doggie tonight. We have 3 more nights here before moving about 1 1/2 hours south to the Lost Dutchman State Campground near Superstitious Mountains east of Phoenix where we stay for 12 nights before heading further west.

Thanks everyone for your warm birthday wishes!

We started the day by driving to a nearby trailhead, Nursery Tank, in hopes of getting some bird photos. It had gotten chilly overnight at 43 degrees and the skies were overcast – not optimal birding conditions. It’s a nice trail and leads to a former cattle watering area and now provides a watering hole to the wildlife here. The ranger had given us a heads up that it’s a great birding spot and we’ll come back another day this week. But it was a nice way to kick off the day.

As the day went on, the clouds dissipated, and the sky was clear with temperatures climbing to 62 degrees. Ron took a long hike down Stoneman’s Wash hoping to catch a glimpse and photograph of the owls that reside there, but no luck today.

After work I opened the gifts, Ron had given me he bought at Carlsbad Caverns. A pair of turquoise earrings and a Navajo hand-made pottery. They are both so beautifully made and so appreciated! The vase is signed by the artist and the turquoise earrings are sterling silver.

We had a couple ribeye steaks to fix on the Blackstone, along with a baked potato and salad, it made a fantastic meal. After dinner, we took another hike on one of the trails in the desert, the scenery here is magnificent and we decided it’s our favorite park. When we got back, Ron also started a fire in the Solo stove and with the mountains in the distance, tunes on the speaker, it was a perfect ending to the day.

Happy Birthday Shannon! Hope you have a wonderful Birthday!

The mountains in this area are simply spectacular. It’s mostly cloudy today, but at times the sun breaks through and highlights one mountain, while others stay in the shadows. We agree this is one of the most beautiful areas we’ve visited. There’s some wind and the forecast call for rain but the temperature is to stay in the mid-50s.

Ron took a morning hike with camera in hand and got some great photos of several new birds. One of them is a hawk standing on top of a Saguaro Cactus and with the mountains in the background, it’s an amazing photo. As he watches the hawk, it flies away and lands near 2 other hawks. This is unusual to us since in our experience they are solitary creatures. In our later research, we determine they are Harris Hawks, and they are one of the rare hawks that do hunt in groups. They have another unique behavior in that they stand on each other’s back on a Saguaro. It’s called stacking and a unique characteristic of this bird, too.

These are really nice trails here, with a sandy base and fairly free of rocks and we see why they bicyclists like them. Ron decides to take the Lectric Bike on one of the trails to Stoneman’s Wash. The ranger said this was a great area for birds and that 30 owls were spotted in the area. He had a blast riding the Lectric Bike and felt like he was a kid again. He captured photos of several new birds but no owls.

The 3 of us take a hike in the early afternoon. It’s a short hike that loops around the campground and brings us out on the other side. Justice loves all the new smells and can’t wait to get to the next one. The ranger told us to be sure to keep him on the leash because dogs are on the menu here with some of the other wildlife in the area!

While on our hike, we got a photo of one of our bucket list birds. It was Gambrel’s Quail and Ron was able to capture some good photos of them near a bird feeder in the campground. Later in the hike we got a real surprise when Ron spotted a Roadrunner! It was coming across the road in front of us and I got a lot of photos of it as it ran across the road, then in the grasses beside it. It’s been on our list to capture since Texas, and we finally got it!

It took us 4 hours to drive from Gilbert Ray Campground near Tucson to McDowell Mountain Regional Campground near Scottsdale. This park is managed by the County of Maricopa and reviews of it are very positive.

We left around 9:30 am and pulled in around 1:15pm. Check-in is at 1:00pm so we were right on time. Upon arrival we saw there was a mountain bike event with lots of bicyclists everywhere. In researching this park, I noticed that this park is popular with bicyclists with over 50 miles of trails in the park and Ron plans to check them out.

Our site is #56 and is a pull-thru site. I thought it was appropriate site number since I was born in 1956 and I am celebrating my birthday this week! The hookups were on the wrong side for our camper, but we were able to position it and run the hose under the camper and the electric cord reached the outlet. We could have turned our camper, but then our door would face the road and we did not think we would like that. The site was level, and we were set-up in no time. The reviews of this campground did not disappoint because the views of the mountains and Sonoran Desert are outstanding.

We decided to run down to the Visitor’s Center to buy some firewood and check for information on the trails in the park. The Park Ranger was very helpful and told us about a couple areas on the trails to capture photos of birds, including owls. Fingers crossed we get some good photos!

After watching the disappointing Bengals loss (maybe next year :), we went to bed early and plan to check out the trails tomorrow. Temperatures were forecasted to drop into the low 40s and rain is in the forecast for the next 2 days. We are here until Saturday morning, when we move to another Arizona State Park, the Lost Dutchman.

It was around 8:00am when we got up and made coffee. I think we all slept well with the overnight temperatures of 38 degrees, made for comfortable sleeping and we didn’t have to run the furnace at all.

We read about the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum briefly but what we read was sorely lacking in detail in comparison to our visit there. This place is amazing, and we were enthralled with the animals, birds, scenery and displays – truly outstanding! We got there around 10:30am and thought we might spend an hour or two but all total, I think we were there over 5 hours and could have gone longer.

These exhibits showcase wildlife, plant-life, insects, spiders, snakes, reptiles, and more than inhibit the Sonora desert. It’s a self-guided walking tour and we started with outside exhibits and finished with those inside. Our first stop was at the Earth Sciences Center & Cave that showcases the rocks, gems, and minerals of Arizona. From here we walked to the Mountain Woodland exhibit containing a Mountain Lion, Black Bear, Mexican Gray Wolves, and Mule Deer. We were able to capture photos of the mountain Lion and Gray Wolves, but the Black Bear is hibernating, and we did not see any Mule Deer.

From here we walked to the Desert Grassland and saw some Prairie Dogs, but the burrowing owl exhibit was closed. Life on the Rocks exhibit contained coyotes, Javelinas, and Lizards and we captured photos of all but the lizards here. Our next exhibit was the Cat Canyon featuring an Ocelot, Bobcat, and Gray fox, and got photos of all but the Ocelot.

The next exhibit was the Riparian Corridor with river otter, Beaver (got a video), Bighorn Sheep, and other aquatic animals. We captured photos of the Beaver and Sheep. Our next stop was at the Aviary featuring birds of the Sonoran Desert and from here we visited the Hummingbird Aviary, capturing photos of birds in both areas.

The last 2 exhibits inside featured snakes, tarantulas, scorpions, toads, and fish and we were able to get some photos here too. I am not sure what photos to add as it was an overwhelming number of unique animals and wildlife, it’s difficult to choose.

We are so glad we got to stop here for a couple of nights at Gilbert Ray Campgrounds and the Sonora Desert region, it’s truly a gem.

We rolled the dice on today’s campground and came out with a win. Our next set of reservations start Sunday, Jan 29 but I hadn’t come up with any for Friday and Saturday nights. I knew I would like to camp at Gilbert Ray Campgrounds located in the Seguaro National Park outside of Tucson, but they were fully booked when I started looking weeks ago. We had one opportunity and that was their FCFS (first come, first served) loop.

It was a beautiful day, and the road was in good shape most of the route. Apple Maps indicated our travel time around 2 hours and pretty much what it took us. Outside of Tucson, we started up an incline and the road narrowed and was bumpy. I was kind of worried that if we didn’t secure a site, we would need to travel back down this bumpy road to find a new campground.

Gilbert Ray Campgrounds is a Pima County managed campground but is located near the Saguaro National Park. It has great reviews, and the scenery is amazing. Upon arrival around 10:15am, we stopped at the front gate where a staff member told us there were 2 sites open in the FCFS loop. She told us to take a look at them and if one would work for us, it would be ours at 11:00am. We walked over to the loop and there was a similarly sized Airstream in site #1. It was a tight fit but since it worked for them, we knew we could, too. While waiting, I caught up on some work and Ron in finalizing our reservations, learned that this is an electric only site – not water hook-ups. They do have a potable water filling faucet, and after making our payment for 2 nights, we drove there to fill our tank. This was our first campsite where it was electric only, but it shouldn’t be an issue for us.

After getting our water tank filled up, we went back to our site and got backed in the tight squeeze with no problem. We decided to take the Campground hiking loop which was about 1.4 miles through the desert scenery. It was spectacular but we did not see any wildlife, birds etc. until we got back into the campground. Here on our way back we saw a hummingbird flitting around a cactus, then it flew up into a nearby tree. These trees have many branches and it made it difficult to get a good photo. It wasn’t until we got back that we realized the hummingbird was going to its nest in the tree and we captured a few photos of it sitting in the nest and determined it is the Costa’s Hummingbird. Females are rather drab in comparison to their male counterparts who sport a brilliant purple crown and throat. We were thrilled though to get a photo of the female sitting in her nest. Ron did see a hummingbird at our campsite when we first arrived and possibly there’s opportunity to get additional photos this weekend.

After grabbing a bite to eat we decided to travel to the Red Hills Visitors Center of the Saguaro National Park located about 5 miles from the campgrounds. With Passport book in hand, we secured our first cancellation stamp in the West region and bought a stamp to add to our collection. There is beautiful scenery around the Visitors Center with red hills covered in a forest of Saguaro cactus. We learned here that the Saguaro grow arms around age 75 and that many live to 200 years old, weighing up to 2 tons. Another interesting cactus is the Teddy Bear Cholla cactus that is named for its furry ‘cuddly’ appearance and is a densely spined plant, but the cactus spikes are sharp as glass and barbed like a fishhook.

There is a museum also located nearby we plan to visit tomorrow. This is part of the Sonoran Desert and today it was 62 degrees by mid-day. Tonight, the forecast calls for 38 degrees overnight and 65 tomorrow – wow, we are so excited!

All the stories and movies about Tombstone paint a wild, west picture but after today’s visit, we learned it was wilder than we knew! Tombstone is located southeast of the campgrounds we are staying in and took us about 40 minutes to get there. We started on tour at the Visitors Center and collected a map along with some literature. There is a main street that looks like you stepped back in time to the mid-1800s. The streets are dirt, and the sidewalks are boardwalks. There are re-enactment actors and activities throughout the day, wagons trains and stagecoaches you can ride, and old-time storefronts are now businesses.

The most interesting aspect of it was the original Courthouse building. This is a State Historic Site and is packed with information, artifacts, and displays that are phenomenal. We spent several hours viewing the various displays, reading about how Tombstone got started, all about the famous gunfight at the OK Corral with the Erps and Doc Holiday, who shot it out with the Clanton’s and McLaury’s.

The town was originally settled by Ed Schieffelin. He was on a scouting voyage in Tombstone against the Chiricahua Apache’s. Ed was part of this mission and was staying at a place called Camp Huachuca. He would leave camp to look for rocks within the wilderness despite his fellow soldiers warning him against it and that the only thing he would find is ‘his Tombstone’. Fortunately for Ed, he did not find his tombstone, but he did find something else – silver. He named his first strike The Tombstone.

Word quickly spread about his silver strike, and it wasn’t long before homesteaders, cowboys, speculators, prospectors, lawyers, businessmen, and gunmen. At one point the population boomed to 20,000 and the town was considered the largest city between St Louis and San Francisco. During the boom, there were 100 saloons, a multitude of eateries, a huge red-light district, a large population of Chinese, newspapers, churches, and schools.

There are many stories here, that would take hours to write but of course, most of you have heard about the Erps, Doc Holiday, and the shootout at the OK Corral. We learned about the 5 men who robbed a bank in Bisbee, 4 of which were sentenced to hang but the ringleader who did not take part in the robbery was given a life sentence. The townspeople had a different idea of his justice, and a mob marched to the jail demanding he is released to them. The Sheriff relented and the mob hung the 5th outlaw.

We stopped also at Boot Hill Cemetery – yes, it really exists and was used during the 1870s and 1880s. Some of the graves are marked unknown but many have the name and cause of death on the wooden grave markers. The majority of deaths were murders over trivial things such as someone didn’t like the color of shirt he was wearing. ‘Here Lies Lester Moore, 4 slugs by a 44, no Les, no More’. ‘Here’s Lies George Johnson, hanged by mistake, he was right, we was wrong, but we strung him up and now he’s gone. ‘ And many more of the same!

Tonight is our last night at Kartchner Caverns State Park – it was awesome!

Happy Birthday Lori! Hope you have a wonderful birthday and enjoy your snow day!

We made our 3rd and final move within the campgrounds today. It went well and we really like site #47. It’s on an outer loop, with no one behind us and not very many on our side. It is a very long, back-in site, making it easy to set up, and unhitch. All 3 sites we camped at were level without much adjustment needed, making it easier for setting up. We did see a couple sites here that had a slope to them, but this is definitely the very best campgrounds we’ve stayed at on this trip or any other trips we’ve been one. We give it a 5-star rating.

After our move, we walked around some and captured photos of 2 new birds to us and a better photo of the Cactus Wren we first saw in New Mexico. We were able to get a photo of the Western Bluebird and since have Eastern Bluebirds at home so was really glad to get a photo of their western cousin. There is also a Mountain Bluebird species in Arizona, but we haven’t spied it yet. I get really excited to get a new species and I think Ron does too. He is more excited though to capture photos of Javelinas, and would like to see Mountain Lions, bears, rattlesnakes, Armadillos, tarantulas, and all those fun things that can inflict bodily harm!

It was the warmest day yet and we decided to get the Blackstone out and fix a meal of burgers, hash browns, and salad. It was outstanding. We also had a couple bundles of wood and decided to get the Solo stove out, and soon had a nice fire going too. This is what camping is all about.

We had an early start tomorrow to visit Tombstone and turned in early.

It’s an exciting day for viewing wildlife at Kartchner Caverns State Park! We thought seeing deer here was exciting but much more was in store for today.

Ron took a hike mid-morning with camera in tow. His plan was to capture some bird photos and he wasn’t disappointed, getting photos of 2 new species. Walking the Foothills Loop, he saw something in the brush ahead and stopped to get a better look. There, not far ahead, was a group of wild Javelinas. Groups are called squadrons and tend to have 6 to 9 animals in it. They were in a brushy area, but he could see them and took a few photos, then they stepped out into the path where he got some great photos. He was thrilled to see them and so glad to get some photos. One of the larger ones, started to step towards him and he did not move for a few minutes, then they moved on into the brush.

Javelinas are medium-sized animals that look similar to a wild boar. They have mainly short, coarse salt and pepper colored hair, short les, and a pig-like nose. They have long, sharp canine teeth which protrude from the jaws about an inch. Each group has a territory which includes their sleeping and feeding areas. They communicate with their own family group and other groups, using sounds and smells. They are classified as herbivores, eating a variety of native plant foods such as agave, mesquite beans, and prickly pear, as well as roots, tubers, and other green vegetation. However, if the opportunity presents itself, they will also eat lizards, dead birds, and rodents. The main predators of Javelina are mountain lions, humans, coyotes, bobcats, and jaguars. They stand about 2 feet tall and can weigh between 35 to 55 pounds and are 3 to 4 feet long. Adult females can give birth anytime during the year and their young are called ‘reds’ due to the red color of their hair.

Yesterday, we were on the phone to Joe and Shannon, when I noticed a man nearby with what looked like a hawk on his arm. Today we saw him again, and it was definitely a hawk, or rather a Falcon. Ron went over to check it out and spoke with the camper, a fellow Airstreamer. The Falcon is his hunting partner, along with a small black dachshund who also travels with him. The dachshund assists the Falcon by flushing out rabbits for the Falcon to catch. The Falcon was giving itself a bath in a small tub and then sat on a post where it preened and dried its wings. He’s had the Falcon for several years, getting her when she was very small. Currently they are not hunting because of a flu that ducks are getting that can kill the bird of prey. Falcons can live to 25 years of age, but they can be killed by Golden Eagles, Coyotes, or by an accident.

The park has a Discovery Center here and we decided to check it out today. They have an amazing display of prehistoric animal bones and replicas, along with information and tools about the discovery of the Caverns in the 1970s. One of the bones discovered in the caverns were the fossil remains of a Shasta Ground Sloth, and they have a large replica on display.

The land was originally owned by the Kartchner family, and 2 men were exploring the area, when they came across the cave. They began explorations of the cave, sharing their findings with the owners but keeping it secret from anyone else for 14 years. The land was eventually transferred to the State of Arizona, becoming public land and public knowledge about the caverns. The State added walkways and lighting to make the caverns accessible to the public. There is now a trolley bus that travels from the Discovery Center to the Cavern entrance and is kept very busy.

It was snowing this morning when we woke up and it seemed strange to see a snow-covered cactus, but this was the case. In speaking with a local person, they said it’s fairly rare but does happen at times. With this parks less than 60 minutes from the border with Mexico, we thought it would be warmer, good thing we brought winter clothes and extra blankets!

Our reservations required we move from site #37 to site #3 this morning. Checkout time is 12:00n with check-in at 2:00pm but the camp host gave us the green light to move in. Site #3 is in the upper loop and located a few hundred feet north of our current site. We are here 2 nights, then move to site #47 for another 2 nights. We are going to time our next move but estimate it only takes us 15 minutes to unhitch / hitch – slow is pro but we are getting efficient at this.

After our move, Ron decided to hike the Foothills Loop. He briefly stopped on the top of the mountain to take a video and some photos. He didn’t linger long with the windy conditions that made it feel much colder than 38 degrees. On his way, he kicked up a covey of quail and although they have 3 quail varieties in Arizona, this was the same bird we photographed in New Mexico – the Scaled Quail or cottontop. He also took a few photos of a Raven and got quite close to it, apparently, they are not intimated by people. The raven is much larger than a crow and generally travels in pairs, rather than in a group as crows do. They are as large as a red-tailed hawk with a wingspan of 24 – 27 inches and about the same from head to tail.

On his hike, he came across mortar holes here also, as those he found in New Mexico. This valley, the San Pedro Valley has been home to many Native American populations. Several archaeological sites have been identified nearby, dating from 4800 BC to AD 1300 and are part of the Hohokam culture.

Before leaving Deming, we bought a pot roast, small potatoes, and carrots and with the chilly temperatures today, it was the perfect day to fix it. RV ovens are not the most efficient, but with the Le Creuset Dutch oven we brought along, the baking performance improves dramatically. I slow baked the roast and veggies all afternoon and by 4:00pm it was ready and after digging in, so delicious! Ron had a huge appetite from hiking and well, I had one too after smelling it cooking all day! Best news, we have leftovers for tomorrow.

Overnight it is forecast to dip down into the teens but then climb to 50 tomorrow and 56 on Wednesday. Arizona is home to 13 varieties of rattlesnakes and although rattlers do not hibernate, they become much less active in the colder temperatures and enter a state known as brumation. During this period, they are lethargic but not totally asleep and will rouse to find the water they need to survive. Sometimes they can be found sitting on a warm rock on a sunny, warmish day in January. We haven’t seen any yet – my preference, but Ron would like to!

We’re chasing the 70 degrees weather but haven’t caught it yet!

Arizona! After 2 full weeks in New Mexico, we are leaving for Arizona at 10:00am for the Benson area and the Kartchner Caverns State Park Campgrounds. The road starts out great, as it’s recently paved, and traffic is light but an hour later the road starts to deteriorate with constant potholes in the slower lane and traffic gets heavy – especially with semis. The speed limit is 75mph, but we generally follow the recommended limit of 64mph for hauling a camper safely and to optimize mpg. The semi-trucks are utilizing the fast lane and we had to stay in the slow lane with the potholes most of the way. But the camper held up and Ron did too and made into Arizona around 12:30pm.

The scenery is the desert landscape and mostly flat with mountains in the distance and some are snow-capped. Enroute, we stop at one of the first rest areas we reach after crossing the State line. It is located in Texas Canyon which lies between the Little Dragoon Mountains to the north and the Dragoon Mountains to the south. This area is covered with giant granite boulders, some of which look like they are balancing precariously and ready to roll at any moment and crushing anything in its’ path. In reality, they’ve probably been in this exact spot for decades and possibly centuries. This area attracts both rockhounds and photographers and we snapped a couple photos too. We wondered why ‘Texas’ Canyon since it is in Arizona and learned a family became the namesake of it, as there were ‘a bunch of damned Texans up there’! In the mid-1880s, a family from Coleman, Texas arrived here to settle, and descendants still live there, raising cattle.

We read about several of Arizona State Park Campgrounds that have great reviews, and the Kartchner Caverns is one of them. It was difficult to secure reservations, but I kept checking back to their website and was able to secure 3 different sites within the campground for the 5-day period. This will be a bit of an inconvenience, but we’ll manage, and it gives us good hitch/unhitch practice.

Entering the park, we see why it is so highly ranked in the camper’s world. The drive entering the park is newly black-topped, and all the campsites are too. We are at site #37 tonight and its level, easy to back into, and we are set up in a few minutes. The Level-Mate Pro also makes it so easy to see if we are level both side to side and front to back. Not sure if I mentioned it previously, but for a RV refrigerator to operate, the camper must be fairly level and through trial and error, we’ve learned that up to 1 inch either way is sufficient for it to work. This site is level without having to use leveling blocks for the side to side, and we only have to move the jack by 3 inches to get it leveled front to back.

The sites are spacious, with small trees flanking them and generous spacing between the RVs on both sides. There is a picnic table and fire ring included and restrooms are located very close to us. We both decided this is the best campsite to date we’ve stayed at and are excited to explore the area.

We fixed a quick meal of soup and sandwich before we started to explore the park. The park is located next to the Coronado National Forest and the foothills of the Whetstone Mountains. This area is referred to as ‘Sky Islands’ where isolated mountains are surrounded by radically different lowland environments. This area of southeastern Arizona is one of these islands.

There are over 7 miles of trails here and we are eager to check them out and decided to take a short hike on a marked trail near our campsite. It’s part of the Foothills Loop which is 2.9 miles in total and as its name indicates, it follows the foothills of the mountain. It was getting late in the day and we decided to make it short, following the loop to the Discovery Center, which we plan to check out another day. There is a hummingbird garden adjacent to the to the DC as well as a cafe – this park is amazing!

Most of the trails are dog friendly as long as you keep them on a leash and Justice was really enjoying the new smells here. Starting up the trail, we see something moving through the brushy area, 4 or 5 deer are also following the trail and we are able to get a few photos before they moved on. We were thrilled to see them, and Justice was eager to sniff their scent! The trail is mostly red sand and rocks, at times there are a lot of them. Further from the campgrounds, it meets up and follows a small stream that tumbles over rocks and boulders. There is a park bench at one spot next to a large tree and we think it would be a great stop to catch some birds. In reading about the trees here, we learned that Mesquite trees are found near washes or creeks and that their roots can travel 100 feet underground to search out water. I think this must be a Mesquite tree here next to the stream. Further on, the trail crosses the creek and decide to forego getting our feet wet – except for Justice of course!

We do capture a photo of a bird we think is a Flycatcher but unable to determine if it’s the Hammond Flycatcher or a Dusky Flycatcher. Either way, it’s new to us.

There is snow in the forecast for tomorrow, but the temperatures are forecast to improve as the week progresses.

Today our focus was getting ready for tomorrow’s travel day and staying Kartchner’s Caverns State Park near Benson, AZ. We had a few items to pick up at Walmart, then to TSC for Justice’s dog food, getting a propane tank filled, and then back to the camper.

At Walmart we decided to buy a treble light to hang with a 75-watt bulb to hang in the outside compartment access to our refrigerator. During the last freezing temperatures our refrigerator had quit running and in researching it, we read that extreme cold temperatures can impact these types of refrigerators. We read that by placing these lamps inside the compartment, it generates enough heat to prevent the coolant from freezing up. We never got a clear answer on why our refrigerator quit working but decided we’d be better safe than sorry with the temperatures dipping down near 19 degrees tonight.

After running our errands, we visited a local park that has a dog park along with playground for kids. Ron brought his metal detector to check it out. When we first arrived, we met a dog owner who was there with his rescue dog. Very nice gentleman who provided some background on how he became a dog owner. His dog’s parents were feral dogs that lived under a trailer, they were wild and uncatchable, but kept having puppies. His dog was one of their offspring who as a puppy, got tangled up in some barbed wire and was not found until it had gotten embedded down to its bone. The puppy was rescued but needed its front leg amputated to live. He later adopted her, and she gets around very well with 3 legs. He went on to tell us that he arrived in Deming pulling a camper and was running on fumes upon arrival but stayed and decided to make the town his home. Deming is not a destination town, but it has some nice features, and the people there are friendly and appear to take pride in their community.

There is a Happy Camper restaurant located at the back of these campgrounds and we heard they have good food. We decided to give it a try today and we weren’t disappointed. Ron had a Cuban Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fries, with a Cerevesa draft beer (locally brewed) and I had the Pulled Pork, minus the bun, with fries and Blood Orange Cider. It was all very delicious and we got to watch some football.

Tomorrow is travel day and our first night in AZ!

There is lots of sunshine this morning, but the temperature is around 22 degrees with a high of 52 degrees in the forecast. The air is dry here and even when it’s in the 40s with the sun shining, it’s quite comfortable.

We learned yesterday that metal detecting is allowed in public parks in New Mexico and Ron decided to give it a try at the park nearby. I had some work to do and wanted to clean some in the camper. With 2 adults and a big dog, it needs a good cleaning about every 4 – 5 days. For the trip we bought a Bissell PetHairEraser hand-held vacuum cleaner. It’s works great and is fast at sweeping rugs, furniture, and floors. We also bought a Swiffer to ‘dust & mop’ which also works great for the small amount of flooring we have, and it leaves a fresh scent. We are also constantly re-organizing, finding better spots for things as we move west.

Ron had some success at the park with various finds, but the most interesting find is a Saint Benedict medallion. It is the first religious medal he has found and in researching it, we learned it is a Christian sacramental medal containing symbols and text related to the life of Saint Benedict of Nursia. We also learned it is a symbol of opening doors and difficult paths, protects against evil, vice, diseases, and promotes good health.

Our next campground is Kartchner Caverns State Park in Arizona, and we are excited to get there. We leave Sunday, and it takes about 3 hours’ drive. It was voted Campendiums 2022 Camper Choice campground and looks amazing with 7 miles of hiking, caverns to explore, the famous town of Tombstone is nearby which is on our bucket list.

We stocked up on groceries today since we’ll be in a State Park for a week, then travel to another state park, McDowell Mountain, which is east of Phoenix.

We leave Oliver Lee Memorial State Park around 8:30am to travel to Deming, NM. It was cold with temperatures around 22 degrees and slightly breezy, resulting in a real feel of 18 degrees. Ron gets us hitched up really quickly and we are soon travelling down the road.

In the distance, we see the snow-capped Sacramento Mountains. This mountain range is one of 3 located in New Mexico and extends 80 miles north-south and 40 miles east-west. They are very rugged looking, and we wonder how the early pioneers traversed them and what passes guides led them through.

The Tularosa Basin where Alamogordo is located, is known for growing pistachios and there are several farms in the area with over 12,000 trees on 95 acres. It takes about 15 – 20 years for trees to mature to full production. We also see a lot of pecan orchards and they also benefit from hot, dry weather. We hope to buy some of each at a farm near Deming.

We take Highway 70 out of Alamogordo to Las Cruces, which is a fairly large town, located about 40 miles from the Mexican border. Here we are to get I-10 heading west to Deming. I have been using Apple Maps with CarPlay for our navigation and we really like it over Google Maps. It’s worked great making our travelling easier – until today. Sometimes you get so reliant on a technology, that when it’s not working you are lost. We didn’t get lost but we went out of our way about 15 miles before realizing it and in back-tracking, a total of 30 miles out of our way. After realizing Apple Maps was taking us the long way around on a highway road through the mountains, we turned around, heading back to Las Cruces where we can catch I-10.

About halfway through the trip, we see a US Customs checkpoint. We’ve seen them before, but none were open, but this one is, and all cars and trucks have to go through it. We slowed down and stopped by the booth, but they waved us on. After going through the checkpoint, Apple Maps finally routes us on I-10, and we think it may have been avoiding the checkpoint on our route today – no other logical explanation!

From our Campendium app, we read about RV Sunrise Park in Deming. It is inexpensive ($20 per night) with full hook-ups, including cable and Wi-Fi, plus it has good reviews. They also have a small laundry room, and we are close to stores for supplies. The gentleman who owns it is 87 years old and although we didn’t meet him, I spoke with him on the phone, and he is very cordial and helpful. The park is not a resort but fits the bill for a couple overnight stays before heading into Arizona.

We were hungry and after setting up, picked out a local restaurant, Si Senor. Ron chose a burger and fries, and I went with the Tilapia, rice, and green beans. It was good food and a nice atmosphere. After eating, we checked out a local park that is located near the campground. This was a former sand pit that the city made into a park. It looks like they have more work to do but the conceptual idea is great, and the community is enjoying it. There is a small pond now in the ‘pit’, that is now used for fishing, and it appears the water is recirculated by a series of pumps before cascading over rocks and back into pond. There are several nice playground areas with rather unique playground equipment and picnic tables, a small zip line, and other fun things.

There’s lots of sun today and 52 degrees is pleasant but it’s going to be cold overnight, dipping down to 24 degrees.

It was another chilly morning here in New Mexico and checking our weather back home, it’s warmer there. Most of New Mexico is at higher elevations resulting in colder temperatures during the winter.

On a short walk this morning, we read that the valley is called Tularosa Basin. It formed during the Pleistocene Ice Age, especially between 12,000 and 24,000 years ago. There was much more precipitation than and water washed gypsum from the San Andres and Sacramento Mountains into a huge lake that filled this basin.

Ron took a walk later and discovered some signage describing Mortar Holes. These cylindrical mortar holes were used by prehistoric people who made frequent use of Dog Canyon. Mortars are often referred to as ‘Indian wells’ because they collect rainwater, but they were actually created as a result of food processing. Hand-held pestles were used to grind wild seeds and beans into flour creating mortars in the bedrock over many years. There are a total of 39 mortars located in this area.

It was a mix of sun and clouds today, but heavier on the clouds and combined with the breezes, it did not warm up much. Overnight it’s forecast to drop into the low to mid 20s, and we’ll unhook the water hose again overnight. Tonight, is our last night here as tomorrow we head further west to Deming, NM area.

Warning: Bird Fest Ahead! For all you bird lovers, this is for you and for all others, maybe you’ll join up. Ron was able to capture a lot of new bird photos and after work, I got a couple.