Time with the family in Tucson

Catalina State Park in Oro Valley northeast of Tucson is a favorite place of ours along with the hike to Romero pools. It is 5.5 miles out and back with a treat of a stream and pools to cool down in. We skipped this hike until it cools down a bit more. Deb hates rattlesnakes.

 

In the eastern foothills of the Santa Catalina mountain range, Sabino Canyon is a world of natural beauty. Stunning vistas, the freshness of the morning air, the tranquility of running creek water, and the rugged backdrop of Thimble Peak make this place so unique. There is a tram that people can ride and see the scenery but we chose to walk the 6 miles.

 

There is a beautiful visitors center which was nice for a cool down after our hike. The sun gets toasty even though the temps were in the 70s with a nice breeze.

 

When I lived near here while working at the medical center, we would walk here often and see roadrunners and turtles many times.

The rains have been pretty heavy since we have been here so the stream from Mt Lemmon had a pretty good flow. Mike was pondering while watching the fish.

There are 9 nine stream crossings

Love those desert sunsets.

On the driveway to my sister's house, I stepped over a rattle snake and didn't realize it until Mike told me.

I appreciated the clouds. As they rolled in the crowds thinned out for a pleasant walk.

The reason for our visit to Tucson this time was a celebration of my niece's wedding

My sisters Sandy and Patty at the rehearsal dinner. Lyndsey behind the camera. It was fun to catch up with everyone. Sunday after the wedding there was a BBQ and three nice days of visiting and telling stories. Driving home after everything, Mike noticed I was quiet. I was just lost in my thoughts of how time passes so quickly. It was 28 years ago that we were attending Sandy and Ihor's wedding and our children were the flower girls and ring bearer.

Kim was a beautiful bride. At the reception, we stood outside and watched the lightening show all across the night sky.

Light rail to Phoenix

When we arrive in a new city, we like to take the public transportation or hop on hop off buses to get a feel for the area. The light rail was not too far and saved us from much driving. $4 pass for all day including buses and $2 for seniors. Not a bad deal since parking was free.

It has been nice to have yoga classes and a nice gym to use while we are here.

I liked how the buildings reflected in the downtown. When we were riding into the city, many neighborhoods reminded me of driving in Mexico and not in a quaint way.

 

We found that college students eat well and decided to look for a place for brunch near the ASU campus and Sun Devils Stadium. We found Snooze that seemed to have a good vibe and breakfast tacos. Score!

It was a good way to spend the morning since the temps are pretty warm to be outside for long other than in the swimming pool. We found some places that we will return to and check out further. Ready for the return ride home.

 

Mesa, AZ What were we thinking?

The temp was 104 degrees when we got here and went up to 107 over the next few days. This is not the norm in October but what is normal anymore? We had gone a lot of miles and needed a good rest. After getting into our spot, Mike plugged us in to get the AC going and nothing happened. The fix it men were here in no time and fixed up our 30 amp. The AC was up and running and running...  It was good to catch up with some friends that we hadn't seen in quite a while and get settled in. We have never stayed  in a 55+ community but decided to give it a shot . The last time I worked at the hospital here, we stayed in a beautiful apartment complex provided by the hospital. But we didn't have much of a chance to get to know people. It looks like there is going to be quite a bit to do here. We have already met several nice couples.

Becoming full time RVers has been a learning experience for us. Sometimes, it can be overwhelming because it such a change. We are figuring it out as we go even though I was traveling nurse for many years. This is different and we like it.

The music in the courtyard is a hoot.

We have been getting up early to ride our bikes and playing pickleball in the evenings.

As much as we enjoy the Superstition Mountains, I guess we will wait until it gets cooler to go for a hike.

 

Flagstaff, AZ the locals call it "Flag"

During an evening walk in Hinkley, MN, we ended up outside an Uncle Kracker concert, pulled up a bench and watched the performance on the big screen. In Duluth, we found a country music festival in the park on the harbor. We never know what we will find in our wanderings. Today, I gave Mike wrong directions for lunch and we ended up in the historical part of town and found a Hopi celebration.

 

Now that fall is in the air, I like to take a cemetery crawl or hear stories of haunted places where ever we might be. The Monte Vista  has many stories of "eternal patrons". One  story is of a ghost in the next stall of the restroom, closing the door and disappearing. They say "that happens once a week".

 

It was quite a treat to watch the artists at work.

Court house from the 1800s

 

Trailhead to the Lava River Cave

This is where we are going?

Signing in so they know we are in there when they find the truck.

Once we got to the point that we couldn't see the light anymore, we turned off our flashlights and couldn't see a thing. I was glad we had a couple of backup flashlights in case the batteries ran out. The light at the end of the tunnel.

On my way out. We had to move about with a crab crawl. We were the only people over 30 hiking in there and it was tough.

We wanted to check out the ski slopes of Snowbowl and they did not allow hiking. So we took the ski lift up. It was the slowest lift I have ever been on.

We were told that the Grand Canyon would be seen in the distance. There it is behind the hill that is a volcano.

Elden Pueblo at the base of Mt Elden from 1075-1200 AD. the archeologists were working on the site when we were there.

An alpenhorn concert in the RV park one evening.

A good end to our time in Flag.

 

 

Gallup, NM

Gallup, NM has always been a place we would stop on our way to somewhere or just pass by. We had been driving a few days and felt that we needed a day off and take a hike or bike ride. After looking on the internet and finding the Quaking Aspen Trail in the Zuni Mountains and High Desert Trail System, we decided to check it out.

We rode 8 miles and the trails were in good shape even with the recent rain

 

 

 

When we arrived at the trailhead we ran into Alvin Whitechair, the district ranger. He was waiting for the local 4th graders to arrive and learn about  the Zuni Mountains and taking care of them. He was very knowledgeable and taught us about the area which was quite interesting.

The ranger noticed a tarantula running by. He was smaller than those in Colorado. 

 

 

We took our GPS since we didn't have a printed map but found out that every intersection had a map like this.

 

 

 

Most of the time, all we heard was our tires on the ground and the wind in the trees. The slick rock wasn't so slick and bounced my head around a bit.

 

There is an initiative to increase the mountain biking and hiking trails in this area. Hopefully, they won't tell anyone. It was so peaceful and the only other person we saw was a lady arriving when we were leaving.

 

The trails have been managed very well and mitigated nicely for water and rain.

After a little investigation on the area, we won't be passing by anymore without seeing what else we can find. I hope to spend some time in Red Rock Park or Ramah next time.

A monument to Fort Wingate Calvary

 

  The United States established Fort Fauntleroy on the site of modern Fort Wingate in 1860, as part of a campaign against the region’s Navajo population. The Civil War disrupted the campaign, and Fort Fauntleroy’s troops quickly deployed away from New Mexico.  Fort Fauntleroy served briefly as a mail station before being abandoned 1865.