Escapee Saguaro RV Co-op

10 Mar, 2019; SKP Saguaro RV Co-op, Benson AZ


Saguaro RV Park is BIG!


Even though we've been here 3 days, Phoebe and I have yet to walk all the park.  It's huge with lots of really nice cactus landscaping and outside the fence, it looks like miles of trails in the desert.  We've easily been exceeding my fit-bit goal of 10,000 steps (13-15,000!).

The sites are large and some of the sheds, Casitas, and landscaping are a cut-above the ordinary.




I love these southwestern style casitas - the one with the roof-top deck would give a great view of the Dragoon Mtns to the east.





Here's a front yard for a railroad enthusiast.




Beautiful sunset - but doesn't bode well for our weather!





This great sunset was followed by a night of rain and significantly cooler temps (only 48F/8C).




Phoebe has to wear her winter coat and I had to pull my raincoat out of the back of a bin.  Even so, I want to stay in out of the rain - but Phoebe is going stir-crazy!  Jumping on the table and bugging me for attention.


It's so windy that her ears are blown back - She looks like Dumbo!



Roper Lake State Park

3 Mar, 2019; Roper Lake State Park, Stafford AZ


I planned this trip last Dec 


After a snowy cold few days, I'm hoping that this trip won't be cold!  I'd really like to unpack my kayak - it's been sitting in the back seat for over a year, just gathering dust.  Luckily, the forecast is for great weather.

The last 10 miles or so of the drive to Roper Lake was gorgeous! The spring bloom is starting and whole hillsides were covered with little yellow flowers and California poppies.  Unfortunately, I didn't feel comfortable pulling over for photos - but, wow, it was stunning!

Roper Lake S.P. is also stunning!  The sites are large, level, separated and have great views of the lake or the mountains.  There are lots of walking trails.  Usually, there is a hot spring available for park visitors, but it was, sadly, unavailable this time.  A few of the gals I was camping with found several hot springs in the area - some with massage and other services.  I'll definitely be coming back here!





An 'island' (actually a penninsula) day use area is nicely equipped with picnic benches, a horse shoe pit, and a swimming beach.






This 30 acre lake is surrounded by cat tails and the wetland environment means that there are a ton of birds.  Phoebe and I enjoyed listening to them while sitting outside in the sun having breakfast.  Of course, Phoebe would have been happier off-leash so she could have chased them.




Snow on nearby Mt Graham

Another beautiful sunset over Mt. Graham

This park is great for birders - I'm not a birder but I saw coots, egrets, herons, red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds, hummingbirds, various hawks, and ducks.


Every morning, over a 100 yellow-headed blackbirds flew through the campground raiding various bird feeders.

Although I didn't see any, we were warned about local gangs of raccoons causing mischief in the campground.  And this trash can shows what some of the raccoons were up to overnight.



I was joining a large group of women (I think 12) from Pueblo RV Resort in Apache Junction. I was invited by a mutual friend, who, at the last minute, got a better offer and flew off to Cancun (well, can't exactly blame her for that!!) - so, I showed up knowing none of the other women.  But, they were all so friendly - I was included in all their activities - great potlucks, paddling, music by the campfire.  And the weather was really pretty great.  What fun!!  I'll for sure look up these gals when I'm back in AJ!


Dottie gets 'spotter of the day' award for finding lures, a turtle and spotting most of the birds


Barney was a very chill paddler!


Therza navigating one of the little cattail coves


The campground has some cabins for rent. I liked their reflection in the lake

 I feel so blessed that these women welcomed me to their camp-out!  They were so much fun.  Therza, Dottie and Sue are accomplished musicians who have been playing together for years. They play all over AJ at nursing homes and other venues.  Sue plays clarinet with a local symphony.
We were serenaded almost every evening - dixieland, jazz, old songs from the 30-40's, and other camp favorites.  I so enjoyed Sue's professional clarinet - she just danced around the melodies.




A great sunset at the end of a lovely week.  On to my next adventure.



Snow-pocalypse in Tucson!

22 Feb, 2019; Pima County Fairgrounds RV Park, Tucson AZ


First it rained, then it snowed


I do like going to sleep with the sound of rain pattering on the roof of the trailer.  It started raining in late afternoon and rained until about 4am.  I thought, great, when I get up, the puddles will have had time to disappear.  Imagine my surprise when I got up several hours later to find it snowing!  There were already a couple inches covering the ground.


I put the rock guard down - the snow was really heavy!


Understandably, she was hesitant at first to dive into 3" of snow and freezing slush!

Phoebe in her full winter coat - what a trooper to walk through all this freezing stuff with no shoes


There's something disturbing about snow on palm trees






Eventually, I had to dig out the car and run some errands.  Funny thing, I don't have a snow scraper anymore or waterproof gloves - ended up using a squeegee and freezing my hands!




When the weather permits, Phoebe comes with me to run chores, and her reward for hanging out in the car is a trip to the local dog park.  This one is a very nice one - good sized gravel and landscaped areas for small and large dogs.  Today, I arrive to find a group of regulars.  Boy, do they come prepared!!  They not only had extra blankets, but came with thermos' of tea, cookies and fudge!




The sun peaking through clouds over snow covered mountains - pretty!




Unfortunately, as I drove closer to the park, I saw the next wave of trouble moving in fast.  It started to hail just as I pulled up to the trailer.




Well, snow-pocalypse 2019 was an interesting experience!  Being from Canada and Oregon, snow used to be a normal part of winter - but, down here in Arizona, it's quite novel.