Wasson Peak

I've been having computer problems the last two days. I keep getting the blue screen which says it is shutting Windows down because of a memory dump. I've had this problem before, but it usually clears up with a system restore to a previous date. Not this time! I've tried several solutions and no luck.

Right now I am just trying to get this post in. I hope I get enough time before the dreaded blue screen and the computer locks up completely. I am open to suggestions for fixing this.

If you don't hear from me on this site, you'll know why.

Yesterday I made the hike to the top of the highest mountain in the Tucson Mountain District, Mt. Wasson. I told myself when I got here that I would do this hike. After Picacho Peak, I feel I can handle any mountain with a developed hiking trail. The top of Wasson is at 4,687 feet. From the trail head, that would be a 1,800 foot elevation gain in just four miles.

Mac and Bruce into a conversation while on a break to the mountain top.

The hardy boys up for this was me, Mac and Bruce. It was just the three of us this time. We headed out a 9:00 am sharp to the trail head. The trail we took was the King Canyon approach from across the road from the Desert Museum, in the western section of saguaro National Park.

The view halfway up on the King Canyon Trail.

The day was to be in the lower 80's, temp wise, with clear skies. As a matter of fact, the days in the seeable future are all supposed to be the same. It's easy to see how beautiful the weather and sun here is. Just tune in to the golf tournament on TV this week. They are playing in Marana, which essentially is a Tucson bedroom community to the Northwest.

The Desert Globe Mallow was blooming early on the trail today.

The morning coolness at the lower level has turned put to be a blessing. The trip to the top was pleasantly warm with the slightest breeze. When we made it to the top, the temps and breeze were perfect. The trail is well developed and maintained. There were two old mine shafts we passed by near the summit. I couldn't believe there was actual mining done way up here, but it looks as though there was.

It was a steep assent that was minimised by several switchbacks. Then there was a hike along a ridge to get to the last few hundred feet of the climb. It was gorgeous! We spent the better part of the next 45 minutes looking at a 360 degree view of the entire Tucson area. We wedged lunch time somewhere in there too.

Bruce, Mac and the view on top.

The three of us.

On the way down, we took another trail around the North side of the mountain. It was the Hugh Norris trail. This trail travels through a grassy, sandy terrain. The flowers were in the first stages of blooming everywhere. The Hugh Norris Trail intersected the Esperanso Trail. We took the Esperanso South toward another mine - the Gould Mine.

This girl looks to be a part of the orchid family and grows as a small shrub. What she is, I'll try to find out.

Mac and Bruce as they approached the Gould mine.

We made it back to the King Canyon trail and rather than follow it, we chose to walk the wash, which parallels the trail. The wash has an area full of petroglyphs. One of the larger collections in the park. You won't find any info about them in the park's literature, for some reason. But, they are there and worth seeing.

Look closely for the petroglyphs

By now, the temps are in the 80's, and in the wash, it feels like a blast furnace at times.

We got back to the RV park at about 3:00 in the afternoon. Our hike today came in at 8.4 miles. I don't feel the slightest bit sore. It wasn't to long ago when I would not be able to move after a hike like this.

I had some dog sitting chores to do and had to pick a few things up at the grocery store too. It's my turn to cook tonight!

Flowers - The Beginning

Today is Chuck and Barb's travel day. They are on their way back to Pennsylvania. They plan on taking a month to get back. The weather there should still be on the chilly side, but Spring is just around the corner. We met them at the usual gathering place, in front of the Clubhouse. We gave them hugs and handshakes. I'm going to miss them. They are the first Steelers' fans I really liked!

Tucson Passport.

Chuck and Barb recommended the Tucson Passport to us. It is a little passport style booklet with all kinds of two for one discounts at many area places. It costs $15.00 at any visitors center and some of the area attractions. You just have to ask for it. One visit at a particular attraction will pay for the cost of the booklet alone. Since Cathy and I do virtually everything together now, it made sense to get one. I picked one of them up for us over at the Old Tuscon Studios.

There were a number of us up for a hike today. We didn't want to do anything too strenuous, so we decided to head out towards the Arrastra mine. Bruce, Sherrie and Amy have not seen it. I wanted to do a hike where I could take my time and get some pics of wild flowers. They are beginning to show now.

Lisa, Cathy, Newbie Bruce, Lorne, Newbie Amy and Bruce's wife Sherrie. That's Dave way in the back. Rose is looking for rabbits somewhere in front.

Hold on to your seats. There are a bunch of flower pics today. I picked up a pamphlet of the common ones. So hopefully I'll have some names for them. If I don't know a flower, or I blow an identification, shoot me a note and tell me what it is. I'm sort of getting into flowers now. ... I thought I would give an advance notice!

Here are some of the wildflowers. They are just beginning to bloom.

Fairy Duster.

Toadflax

A budding Staghorn Cholla Cactus

Could this be Trailing Four O'clock?

Don't know this one

This one might be Bee Balm (?)

An Ocotillo bud

Another unknown

Okay, just to prove we made it out to the mine, I have this pick of one of the Arrastra on the site. Remember these? This is one of the remains of the circular ore processing spots.


We took the trail to the mine and then the wash back to the parking lot. We got back to the RV park before 2:00.

I had enough time to do some homey chores. The sun set again today with a spectacular sunset.

Jamaican Jerk Chicken Marinade

I've been using this marinade for a number of years now. Everybody who has tasted it, loves it. It is the best for a barbecue. I like it on the hot side, so I add a little more cayenne than called for.

Works for pork too.

• 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
• 3 Tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar (I use Rice Vinegar)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Minced Onion
• 2 Cloves Minced Garlic
• 1 Scotch Bonnet or Jalapeno Pepper, Seeded and Minced
• 1 Tsp. Dried Thyme
• 3/4 Tsp. Ground Allspice
• 1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
• 1/2 Tsp. Salt
• 1/2 - 1/2 Tsp. Cayenne, to taste

Combine all ingredients thoroughly in a dish large enough to marinate the meat. Add the chicken and coat completely; then use your fingers to rub the marinade into the meat.

Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours. Return to room temperature before cooking.

Catalina State Park

It seems as if I spend all, or at least most, of my time outside having a great time. Well, I do! Sometimes there is a feeling of guilt about doing this. It especially occurs if you have recently retired. I frequently used to have these little guilt pangs for not being a constructive part of society. I thought it was just me. I had a discussion with Cathy about this. She sometimes feels the same way.

We simply have to tell ourselves, it's all right. We did our work thing then. Now is now. It's time to go outside and play, before we can't play at all!


Our playtime today was to go out to visit Catalina State Park. Dave made the arrangements and coordinated the details with the other RV'rs at the Monday morning donut session. It's another, of many, nearby parks. I was in Tucson last year, as many of you already know, but I didn't realize just how many parks there are in and around Tucson. It's truly a Winter Bird's playground.

Cathy and Sherrie

Catalina is listed as located in Tucson, but is really located in Oro. The next town North. There are no big hikes planned. This is a picnic and social time. There are a number of small loop trails immediately around the picnic grounds. If you're interested in a longer hike, there are a few trails that will take you from 4 to 14 miles. Not for me today.


The last two days, the temps have gone into the 80's. Doing a longer hike in this type of heat requires some mental prep. Or an early departure. I mean real early. It's not even to the hot-hot temps yet.


We spent the better part of the day at the park. The group took a hike on one of the shorter trails near the wash. This park actually has a wash with water in it. We had to do some stream hopping to get across. A little uphill stretch of about 100 yards and then a nice stroll in the sunshine.

Many multi-armed saguaro make the a distinctive area.

We got back and enjoyed our picnic lunch. Rose had a few pieces of apple and I smuggled a doggie treat in for her.


There is a birding trail that winds through a cluster of mesquite and other shrubs near the wash. Our after picnic exercise was to check it out. Like most desert places, you have to really watch for the birds. More likely, to wait, for the birds. If you stay real still, the begin to emerge from hiding after a few minutes.


We got back to the picnic area and found the others have already headed back to the RV park. It was getting hot and there was little shade around the picnic tables. We were hot too. Back to the park we went.

We made a few loose plans for a hike back to the Arrastra Wash for tomorrow. It looks as though 8 of us will be doing it. Newbies Sherrie and Bruce, from New Jersey, the Canadians, Lisa and Lorne, Dave and another newbie whom I've yet to meet, Amy, Cathy and I are slated to go.

No guilt feelings from me!

Strawberry Pizza

I "borrowed" this recipe from fellow RV'r Linda Payne. I have used her recipes in the past and they all have come through with huge successes. This is super rich, and makes a perfect party or pot luck desert.


Crust:

• 1 Package Brownie Mix
• 1/3 Cup Boiling Water
• 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 Egg

Topping:

• 1 Package 8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 Cups Fresh Strawberries, sliced
• 1 to 2 Firm Bananas, sliced
• 1 Square (1 oz.) Semi-Sweet Chocolate, melted

In a bowl, combine brownie mix, water, oil, and egg until well blended. Spread onto greased and floured 12 inch pizza pan. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg and vanilla extract until combined. Spread over brownie crust. Bake 15 minutes longer. Cool on wire rack.

Just before serving, arrange strawberries and bananas over topping. Drizzle with chocolate. Refrigerate leftovers.

Serves 10 - 12.

A Goodbye Pot Luck

Today was planned a pot luck over at Mac and Sam's RV. The occasion for this one is that Chuck and Barb are leaving this Wednesday for more adventures. Having a party a few days before departure makes all the sense in the world. There is ample time to plan, pack and recover, by partying and saying goodbyes. The real goodbyes, with hugs and handshakes of course, are saved for the actual travel day.

I did a little investigating about who was making what, and who was bringing what, and determined I could bring a desert. Good! I've been waiting to try a recipe I saw on fellow blogger's website; RV Dreams by Linda and Howard Payne. Linda has a strawberry pizza desert that looked great and didn't sound too hard to do.

That's what I spent most of the morning doing. I did some general grocery shopping and also picked up the stuff to make this pizza. I'll post the recipe in a coming post. As a matter of fact, there are a few recipes I should post. I have a chicken jerk marinade for the barbie that is to die for. Cathy gave me a recipe for tomitillo salsa that is super too. That may be my next blogging chore: Get caught up with recipes Mr. Cox! .... okay...


I quickly put the crust together and while that was cooling I cleaned up my barbecue grill so Sam would have an extra to keep meat warm on. I brought the grill over and had a couple of beers with Mac. Let's see two beers and it wasn't even noon yet! Okay, this is gonna be a good party. I can see that already!


Two o'clock came and a big bunch of people showed. I won't go into any detail of the shenanigans going on. I have sworn not to, in order to protect the innocent!

Let's see, we had three, maybe four, different types of tenderloin, all cooked over different types of wood. Mesquite, cedar, and, hmmm, now what was the other one.... There was German potato salad, fried potatoes, coleslaw, salad, I'm sure I'm forgetting things. Sorry, if I can't remember everything!

Mac sent me this shot of the pizza.

Shayne brought over a dip relish and I had made some tomitillo salsa earlier in the week, and brought that too. Of course there were maybe one or two beers opened and a bottle, maybe two, of wine opened.

It was a great party and ended well after dark. I wasn't the last one to leave, but close.

We'll miss Chuck and Barb. Hey, that's the RV life style!

I can still hear the music: ....Y M C A .....Y M C A .....

Picacho Peak

Before I get started, you can view over 90 pictures of this hike by clicking on the Picacho Peak slide show in the side bar. By clicking on it, you'll be taken to the album. oops... I was just handed a disc, from Mac, with another 100 pics on it. I'll get them to the album too! :)

It was one of those days when I didn't know what to expect. I had committed to a hike planned for the Rincon Mountains with Dave. But last night, when I got back to the park, I saw Mac and he asked if I would like to go to Picacho Peak for a hike.

The hike up Picacho is one I have recently wanted to do. I looked into some info on it, on line, only a couple of days ago. I was very interested in going. I headed home and arrived just as Dave was calling, wanting to know the time for the hike to Rincon. That's when I told him of Picacho Peak and my desire to take that hike instead.

So, everything worked out. Dave, Lorne and Lisa were to hike Rincon. Mac, Cathy, Chuck and myself were to hike Picacho Peak. At around 10:00 the next morning, we jumped into Mac's jeep and headed to the Mountain.

I visited Picacho Peak State Park last year. That's the place where they were reenacting the Civil War battle fought nearby. To see my post of that day; poke here. Uffda (alas), due to budget constraints, the battle and the living pioneer camp events, have been canceled this year.

This is Picacho Peak. I took this pic out of Mac's jeep from I-10.

The hike is billed as a 2 mile hike up and a 2 mile hike back down on the same trail. A 4 mile round trip should be a piece of cake for me these days. The next few hours will make me rethink that.

I got a hint of what the trail may be like when I took a close look at the mountain as we approached from I-10. I have a problem with vertigo. If I am high up on a building, or ledge, I get a bout of anxiety that's hard for me to shake. It looks like that will be tested.

Chuck, Mac, and Cathy

It must have been close to 11:00 by the time we arrived at the trailhead. I checked for Geocaches last night and down loaded one to my GPS unit. I wanted to get the geographic trail details of this one. I took special care this time when I set my unit.

The start of our hike (climb) up the mountain.

The first thing I noticed about the desert in this area is that it is much greener. With the morning light, it looks like the whole side of the hill is carpeted with emerald velvet. When you look real close at the green ground cover, it is made up of these little flowers with white blossoms.

Going up.

We started our climb. When we got a few hundred feet we could see we had to hike the front face of the cliff above us. That will eventually take us to the saddle. The saddle is the end of the 'easy' portion. From there, the rest of the way... well, let's just say, it's a climb.

A view of the cliff face.

We arrived at the cliff.

A view from in front of the cliff.

We stopped for a rest at the cliff. We'll have to skirt the face of it to get to another uphill chase to the saddle. The cliff will be directly below us when we get there. It was a welcome relief to walk this portion. It is the first fairly level piece of the hike.

Mac and Cathy at the Saddle.

On we went. We arrived at the saddle without much of a problem. There were two spots where steel cable was attached to the rock to help the hikers. I used them, for sure!

We rested here for a while. The park service built a bench and erected a plaque, with some historical information on it. There once was a beacon built on top of this mountain to assist with airplane navigation.

Now on to the top. To get there we have to make a steep decent. That's right, we have to climb/hike downward for, I'm guessing, 150 feet. All of this area skirts a cliff and is cabled for hand holds. There were wooden steps in places too. Still, it was more than I was used to. This leg put us on the opposite side of the mountain from where we started. Then it was up again.

Up some more.

Now much steeper and some of it, hand over hand, class four climbing. Did I mention my vertigo? I was actually concentrating so much on what I was doing that it didn't bother me much. I chose to stay in the back with a lot of space between me and the rest. That would keep the distractions to a minimum.

These two paused on a wide spot to let us by. Yes, that's the edge of the cliff, a few feet behind them. Chuck is leaning on a cable, waiting for the rest of us.

We met several people coming in the opposite direction. All ages too. There were people clearly in their 70's coming down from the top as well as the 'kids' younger than 30. You just try to find a wide spot, or step off uphill, on bare rock and let them by.

Things got even more hairy the farther up we went. It was like playing Donkey Kong on a Nintendo. Every time you successfully get through a level, the game takes you to another, harder level, and so on. That's what we were getting into.


I shouldered my camera through most of this. But, I was able to get a few shots of this crazy trail. We finally crossed a part of the cliff with a 2 x 6 and cables as the way to get across a gap in the cliff face. Then it was straight up again, using more cabled hand holds.

Calling the cables a 'railing' is too much of a stretch. If you like your railings a half inch in diameter and swaying about as you use them, in the elements at 1,300 feet above the desert floor, then by all means, refer to these as railings.

Finally at the top. The views were amazing. We had our lunch with us. I was debating whether to leave it in the car and eat when I got back, or not. I'm glad I packed it with me. I was famished. An egg salad sandwich never tasted so good.

Mac, on top.

On the cliff side of the rock I was sitting on, somebody else stopped for lunch before me. Whoever it was threw their orange peels on the ground. I've never been this way before. Maybe it's because I'm living a life style that's more appreciative of nature. But c'mon, why do I have to look at other peoples' garbage - after the effort I put in to get here and enjoy the scenery?

I watched this little guy hopping about. He kept me amused as I 'did lunch'!

There were a couple of guys on top when we got there. They were from Minnesota. When I asked them, in my best Minnesotan dialect: "...where 'bouts in Minnesota you from?". He gave the perfect Minnesotan answer: "..oh, from 'round 'bout Minneapolis!". Yeah, a Minnesotan never can be to careful about giving information out. You never know who you're going to meet on a mountain top in Arizona. That's why his answer was general, not specific. You don't want to give out the name of the town! After all, that would be too personal. ... Well, there ya go - then!

Lunch was and we were on our way down. I looked at my GPS and saw the Geocache was only 100 feet away. We gave a cursory look for it. Mac wanted to find it and did some serious hunting. It was a bust. We never did find it. We were more interested in the descent.


I kept my camera slung behind my shoulder the whole way. We retraced our steps that got us to the top. Again, I hung back and gave plenty of space to the person in front of me. Usually things go wrong on these kind of hikes, while on the way down. The loose gravel on slick rock can be hazardous.


It took us an hour and a half to make it back to the parking lot. As we got to the lower end of the trail, I took the time to take pics of some of the flowers. Usually, the guy in the lead has no idea what's going on behind him. I'm learning to stop to shoot the plants when the trail becomes more casual. That way, when somebody looks around, they won't wonder where I went, or if I had an accident!


We made it back to the RV park at around 5:30. This hike was to be only four miles. My GPS had it at 3.4 miles. It took us over 5 hours to do a '4 mile' hike, with a lunch break. My usual time for 4 miles is less than 2 hours. I don't think I will ever do a tougher 3.4 mile hike than this one! I was surprised about my condition. I wasn't sore and I felt, with sleep, I would be back to 100% by morning.


If it were two months ago, I would be absolutely dead tired and sore!

I took a long hot shower before I did anything at all. It was a frozen pizza and beer for me for dinner.

I was in bed and dozed off watching Letterman.

Amerind Foundation

This morning we met at 9:00 for a trip 60 miles East on I-10 to the Amerind Foundation. There were eight of us for this outing. The Amerind Foundation is actually a museum founded in 1937. The foundation's focus is on a collection of prehistoric Native objects from archaeological excavations in North America, and some in South America.


It is located in an area called the Little Dragoon Mountains. It's a spot situated among large boulders and balanced rocks. It's an area that somehow seems out of place in this otherwise flat terrain, supporting grasses of this high desert plateau.

This little, pioneer cemetery is on the road to the foundation. Only the descendants of the original settlers are allowed to be buried here now.

Two cars made the trip. I was riding with Cathy in Lorne and Lisa's car. Thank you Lorne for the driving! We arrived just before noon, just in time for our picnic. We found a place among the rocks, choosing to avoid the picnic tables. The cool breeze was blowing just enough to make us seek a wind break in the boulders.


Lunch passed by quickly. I appreciated the warmth of the sun on my back and the friendly give and take and kidding we typically do of each other. We were on a loose schedule and had to be at the museum to meet our guide.

Our guide, or as preferred these days: docent, was a charming elderly lady. I didn't catch her name, but she volunteers her time for the foundation. The down side of the museum is there are no cameras allowed inside. I can never understand such rules. About a third of all the museums I have visited do not allow photography. I just don't get it. Oh, well...

This plant was near the museum. I've been told its name several times, but do you think I can remember it now?! It's a pyro... something.

The collection of artifacts displayed is actually the personal collection of William Fulton. There are a few displays that are on loan from other places, but this is primarily of the things Fulton found, as an amateur archaeologist, during the 1920's and 30's.

We finished with our tour and stopped in the next building, where there is an art gallery. Most of the art is of modern Native American origin. I don't pretend to be an art connoisseur, but I found the display fascinating.

This is a must see, if you're in the area. Most people don't even know it's here!

Before we left the Dragoons, we stopped at a nearby guest ranch to check out the RV setup there. It's the Triangle T and is also situated among the boulders. Besides the RV park and cabins, there is also a saloon on the grounds that was built around on of the boulders. The back of the bar is the boulder. We took a break there and had a beer.


On the way back, Lorne and Lisa were gracious enough to drive on in to Wilcox where we gathered some information on the RV parks there. Wilcox is located in an area we would like to sometime explore. It would provide a great base to drive out to these areas.

It was twilight when we got back. I could hear the coyotes behind the trailer. The sky was clear and the stars were beginning to appear. ... Another orange sunset in the distance. ...It's supposed to be warm tomorrow... :)

Mail Woes

About two weeks ago I had my mail forwarded to me here from my mail forwarding company out of Rapid City, South Dakota - America's Mailbox. They have been my forwarding service ever since I hit the road. I have never had a problem with them. They took care of my vehicle registrations too. I gave them the power of attorney and did all the paperwork and forwarded me my license plates for my vehicles. They did this while I was out exploring this neat country of ours. It was this time of year and I wasn't about to be snow bound in South Dakota, freezing my bumper off, doing vehicle registration myself!

My mail always comes with no junk mail; just the essentials. I have most all my bills handled electronically, and I use electronic banking through my credit union. All of this has been extremely handy, and above all, reliable.

That is until two weeks ago. I requested my mail be forwarded to me on February 2. I still haven't received it! Whenever my mail forwarding company does a forward to me, they always send an email notification with a tracing number. I used the tracing number and it showed that my mail was delivered, on site, on February 4. Great, now what do I do?!

I searched the RV park's office. No luck. I searched through all the mail slots. No luck. I called America's Mailbox and talked to Amber. She traced my package and called all the points that it touched and most of the Post Offices in Tucson to try to find it. No luck. She told me that all verified that my mail had made it to the park. The only entity that did not return her call was this RV park. Amber went above and beyond for me on this.

In the mean time, I attempted to do a reverse trace on my end. I visited the branch post office that handles the area I am currently in. There, I bumped into Barb, another snowbirder living in the park. Her husband Chuck, is the guy that was thrown from his horse last week, remember? They have the same situation. No mail.

The only thing I learned here is that when the mail is scanned as delivered, the mailman is at the actual drop destination. He does the scanning.

Where do I go from here? As it turned out, Barb waited at the mailbox until the mailman made his run today. Her mail was found in the truck. Is that what I have to do too? I don't get it.

Okay, I'll try that. I'll try to eliminate one more variable. In the mean time, I am close to resigning on this delivery. I reasoned, the worst loss of any mail may be some tax info. With my current situation, living off a small pension and some savings, there is nothing too serious there.

My next delivery will include the tabs for my plates. I'm thinking of doing general delivery from here on out. It's not as convenient, but at least I'll be sure to get it.

On the lighter side, I was jolted out of my nap yesterday when I heard somebody yelling my name and to "...get out here!". Huh?, I stumbled from my sleep, disoriented, hit my head on the side of the wall, tripped down the steps from the bedroom and fumbled open the door. It was Shayne. She told me to grab my camera and repeated: "...get out here!".


I got out in time to see a perfect rainbow, just beginning to fade. I snapped this pic with drool still on my cheek.

Dog Sitt'n

My to do list was growing and got to the point that I had to do something about it. My computer was getting sluggish and I had to move files to an external hard drive I bought this week. My truck is absolutely filthy. It was covered in mud splashed up by a kid who passed me on a wet dirt section of road. Get this, the piece of road this happened on was less than a half a block long. I guess he just couldn't wait for a guy doing the limit.

Anyway, I think you get the point. It was time for me to do some domestics and take care of some nagging problems with the computer. Nothing serious, computer wise. I somehow fouled the connection between it and my printer. The memory problem with file space ahd to be dealt with. I had some blog updates to do, and so on.

I was asked to join in on a hike today and had to pass on it. That made me the designated dog sitter while their masters are on the trail. Cathy let me take care of Rose. Rose stayed in my trailer and got acquainted with Emily, my cat. Cloie was in her trailer next door to me and my instructions were to walk her every three hours, to do her thing.

That was all okay. I was worried how the Rose and Emily situation would play out. But that went smoothly too. They stared each other down. Emily hissed and slowly walked to her normal spot on the couch. Rose just looked and sniffed. No problem at all.

Emily has gotten into the habit of wanting fresh water every time she wants a drink. It's enough to drive me nuts. Sometime I will take the water dish and act like I changed the water out and she will drink. That only works once though. She wants that fresh water. Not today. I caught her drinking from Rose's dish. Even after Rose slobbered in it. She wanted Rose to know this is her house and she's the boss. ...Animals!

I did my maternal sitting duties until Rose and Cloie's parents came home at about 5:00. I got a call when they were close to home. A dinner party was put together at the last minute and I'm invited! Cool!

We enjoyed a great evening with the hikers and myself. Cathy made chile and hosted the party in her trailer. Lorne and Lisa brought over a salad and Cathryn and Randy brought corn bread and honey. I brought over four beers and Rose!

I like these kind of days.

Sweetwater Preserve and Valentine's Day

I got caught up with the posts this week and now I'm behind again. Somebody told me there are only 24 hours in a day and that adage stuck with me. Where does the time go? There are two days worth of doings to catch up on, so be prepared.

Cathy, Lisa, Randy, Cathryn, Lorne and Dave. That's Rose and Cloie on all fours. Randy is over six feet tall so I made him scrunch down in order to get the sign.

Last week a local reader, Sam Negri, emailed me and told me of an area not too far from the RV park that offered a great hike, the Sweetwater Preserve. This area contains over 700 acres of pristine desert landscape and was recently purchased by Pima County to be used for recreation. We researched the area, found a map, and a Geocache and planned a hike for this day.

We saw three of these crested saguaro on the trail. The trail boss we were with at Colossal Cave Ranch said these occur at the rate of about one in every 200,000 saguaro.

The terrain is fairly level in this park. There are no mountains to hike up. Though mountain scenery is all around. The trails are designed for hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers. Being this area is on the city side of Tucson Mountain Park, and the terrain isn't too severe, it is popular with the local mountain bikers. We encountered about a half dozen of them on the trail.


When we started out, we came on the first fork in the trail. We chose the one on the left, per my recommendation. That's because I thought it would be more of a direct route to the Geocache. Our first mountain biker we came across was a mile on this left fork. He recommended we should have hiked the right fork because it is more scenic. Sheesh, I didn't hear the end of that for the rest of the hike! :)

We found this unidentified dead snake on the trail.

At about the three mile mark, we decided it was time for our picnic lunch. I thought I got the word out to everyone that we would do a picnic on this hike. Of course, I missed somebody. Cathryn and Randy didn't get the word. Most of us always bring more than we can eat. We shared and nobody starved.

When we were finished, we had another choice with a fork in the trail. I recommended the right fork. Wrong again! It circled the picnic spot and, after a half mile, we came on the same fork again. Two for two, not bad.

This little pincushion was beginning to show its colors.

The Geocache always indicated it was only a little over a half mile from us on my GPS. That's because we were walking in a large loop. But we finally came to within a few hundred feet of it. The write up I had of this one said there would be no bushwhacking and it was located in a little mesquite bosque. There was a discussion of what a bosque was. We determined it had to be a small grove of trees.


That's where we - actually Dave - found it. It was tucked under a nice neat pile of rocks in the middle of a small growth of mesquite trees. Randy removed it and did the normal protocol. He signed the log and left a little plastic bumblebee Dave brought along, for someone else to find. We didn't take anything.


On the way back we covered a segment of trail we hiked on the way in. This segment was awash in these blue flowers. There was only one or two of them in bloom this morning, but now they were all over the place. It's another sign that Spring is just around the corner.


Later that day Cathy and I were invited to Cathryn and Randy's trailer for dinner. It was a perfect end to our day. We had a pot roast, baked potatoes and carrots that Cathy brought and I brought over a broccoli salad. A little wine and conversation as well as some good natured kidding and we were in yawns. We were home and in bed a little past ten o'clock.

Thanks Sam for the heads up on this hike!

It's now Saturday and Valentine's day. I said we were in bed by ten o'clock last night. That was actually a little fib! I stayed up to put Cathy's Valentine's day card together. I had to use my printer and photo grade paper I borrowed from Cathryn and Randy. I took a pic of a heart shaped prickly pear and formatted it to fit on a card I made from Heavy grade paper.


She came by for coffee and we exchanged cards. I hope she doesn't mind if I show her card. She made it herself and it shows her talent for art. This is one card I'll keep.

Vendors galore. You can see and buy every type of mineral imaginable. It's the biggest such show in the world.

We took Rose for a dog walk and then headed to one of the Tucson Gem Show areas. There are several of them spread over town and are connected by a shuttle bus system. We chose to visit only one area just off of Ajo road. It was nearby and we didn't want to do an extended tour of the show. But at the same time, we wanted to see what it was about.

This is beaders' heaven. You can get a lifetimes supply here.

I did an extensive tour with my Seattle friends, Teddy and Nancy Hall, last year. I knew that one area was representative of the others. So there is no need to tour the whole thing. Unless you have something specific in mind to buy, or you want to enjoy an entire day of the show.

These ships are carved from a single piece of jade.

We had some errands to do too. We soon left for camping world where I bought some additives for the holding tanks and Cathy bought some roof sealant. Then it was over to COSTCO for some supplies and groceries.

I attempted to make dinner tonight but my oven decided to not to cooperate. I was preparing a new recipe, a Mexican style corn casserole, and wasn't sure how long it would take to bake. It took twice as long as the recipe called for, and at a higher temp. Before I could finish, Cathy headed for home. She had an early day planned for tomorrow. I sent her home with leftover broccoli salad and baked veggies. I'll let you know about the new dish when I get it perfected.

A Birthday Mine Tour

I woke up this morning late. It was going on 9:00. I think it was because of the leftover anxieties of yesterday. I knew we were going to do a mine tour today. I didn't know when we were going. I think I just assumed it would be close to noon because there was to be a picnic involved too.

I showered, brushed my teeth, made the bed and put the coffee on. I stepped outside and was filling the bird feeders when I saw Randy walking in front of my trailer. I waved and asked where he was going. He was going to the clubhouse to join the folks going to the mine tour. What? Yup, I had eight minutes to put a lunch together, get my camera, and meet for the tour.

I finished with the bird feeders, put my shoes on and poured a cup of coffee to go. I put two apples and an orange in my pockets and I was on my way with my coffee in my hand. Then I remembered I forgot my camera. Back to the rig. I picked up my camera and made it just in time. I paired up with Cathy who was driving her truck today. Cathryn and Randy joined us for the ride there.

Cathy was feeling great. No apparent set backs from yesterday. I saw Chuck at the clubhouse later in the day. I was surprised to see that. When I talked to him, he remarked he was feeling better than expected today, although mighty stiff. Good to see the casualties are up and walking!


The ride to the mine was only about 30 minutes to the South on highway 19 to Pima Mine Road. It's the ASARCO open pit copper mine. Our tour guide was Doug. He's a retiree from the Pacific Northwest and does this part time because, as he says; he likes to hear himself talk!


We toured the whole area, some by bus, some by walking. Doug gave us an overview of the mining process. The equipment is massive. The dump trucks are close to four stories high. The loading cranes can fill one with one scoop and are all electrically powered.


One of the things I was not aware of, was the way copper is removed from the tanks. Air is injected into the tanks. The bubbles formed by this naturally carry a negative charge. The copper particles carry a positive charge and are attracted to the bubbles. The copper containing bubbles float to the surface of the tanks and are then skimmed off to another tank, forming a slurry. Interesting stuff.

From there the copper is processed into large plates and are sent off to be further refined. See, I did learn something!

When the tour ended, Doug gave us all a sample of the richer, ore bearing rock to take home. By the way, the ore processed here, these days, only carry a 00.6 percentage of copper. That's why they have to move such a large amount of ore here. The tailings piles are huge and are part of a land reclamation project. The tailings are continuously being replanted with native plants and eventually are returned to blend with the natural desert environment.


We settled in for our picnic when the tour was done. I ate my two apples and the orange. Cathy shared her corn chips with me. After a bit, I wandered about to take some pics while others chatted and socialized.


We got back for a planned surprise birthday party for Dave. I heard so many different remarks on how old he is, that I don't really know his age now. It doesn't matter. We are all the same age in this life style! The clock stops counting such things.



It was cake and ice cream. Dave mentioned to me. ...don't repeat this now ... we'll just keep this among us ... He said it was the best party he had without liquor involved!

Happy Birthday Dave!

Stampede at Colossal Cave Ranch

I'm about a day late with my entries. Today, I'll pass on yesterday's happenings and focus on today. I'm still a bit shook about what happened today.

A Group Pose.

Shayne made arrangements for nine of us to ride horses over on the East side of Tucson. The ride is actually at a riding stable located in the Colossal Cave Mountain Park. We signed up for a two hour, tourist style, horse ride on the park's trails.

Checking in

We paid our fees and the cowboys and hands helped us onto our horses. We were introduced to out trail boss, who's name now escapes me. We were giving the customary instructions on how to handle the horses. Then we were on our way.


I was anticipating a lot of fun. I enjoyed the banter we were giving each other back and forth. The gas some of the horses were giving off! The periodic stop for a horse to relieve itself! The incredible western Sonoran Desert scenery! It was turning into a warm, sunny day. The near freezing temps from the night before were long gone. I left my jacket in the car.

We were entering a wash. Everything was going as normal as a horse caravan can be - up to now. There were four horses and riders in front of me. My horse entered the wash and began to trot up the other side. It was at this point things began to happen. I heard the horse behind me Burt, carrying Chuck, wheeze and grunt, and at the same time heard the sound of uneven, rapid hoof beats.

Just a few seconds from now, all hell broke loose as we entered this wash!

Burt, was stumbling and he scrambled to regain his balance. Doing this, he ran into my horse, Wheeler. Wheeler lurched forward, with me in a surprised gape. I grabbed tightly on the reins. Wheeler was now on the left side of the horse in front of me, Hondo, carrying Cathy. When Wheeler's head got to the side of the rear end of Hondo, Hondo gave the neatest savate style side kick to Wheeler's right front quarter.

Wheeler did a mini style rear up and came over the top of Hondo and was now on the right rear side of Hondo. At the same time Wheeler made a hop, or mini bucking move. I found myself with my butt off the saddle on a reeling horse. I somehow managed to do a pirouette from that position and was now on my feet, standing on the ground, with the reins still in my hands and Wheeler fighting to be free.

I turned facing to the front of the caravan. It was then that I caught, out of the corner of my eye, Cathy flying off her spinning horse and landing in the scrub brush fifteen feet in front of me. She was tossed like a rag doll. I let go of the reins and ran over to her to see if she was all right. Before I got only a few feet, she was already scrambling to get up. That relaxed me right away. All the immediate anxiety and fear I had eased to be replaced by worry and concern.

I made sure Cathy checked herself to see if she had any sprains or if any bones were broken, or if anything didn't feel normal. She repeatedly assured me she was all right.

Then I heard the people behind me hollering that Chuck is still down. That's when I found out Chuck was also thrown! I ran back to where Chuck was. I couldn't see him until I got to within thirty feet of the wash. I could see him, through the scrub brush, he was just beginning to stir. He was flat on his back, laying in the bottom of the rocky wash. He hit hard and had the wind knocked from him.

The trail boss was now with Chuck, helping him up. I stopped in my tracks right there and let the pro's take care of the situation. Chuck was clearly hurting. He landed on his right shoulder and more or less skidded into the position I saw him in. He was checked to see if anything major was wrong. He was lucky. Nothing was broken or sprained. He was skinned up and well bruised.

After a five or ten minute interval, we were all helped back on our horses. Like I said, we were all lucky. Lucky that Cathy was all right. Lucky that Chuck was all right, though in some pain and favoring his shoulder. Lucky that I landed on my feet. I was really shook up for the next few minutes. The reins were trembling in my hands. I just couldn't get over how lucky we were. It could have been much, much worse.

Back on the trail.

The rest of the ride went without incident. I got into a comfortable gait with my horse, Wheeler. I quietly enjoyed the scenery and tried to get pics of the riders. Most came out out of focus. It's awfully tough to get a good photo on a horse, as I found out.


The pictures didn't matter though. This was an experience I won't ever forget. When we got back, the three of us thrown, had to fill out an incident report for insurance purposes. We made plans to stop at the western saloon, Tiny's, near our RV park, for the cowboy steak specials. A fitting diner!

Cathy, a real trouper, as she brings her horse in.

We relived the incident over dinner. Mac and Sam wondered how this is going to be embellished over time. They pondered, perhaps its best to say a bobcat or rattle snake spooked the horses and started it all! I don't know. I think it makes a great story, just as it played out.

As I close this post, I'll probably stay up late, thinking about the day. I'm still a bit shaky. I can't get over how lucky we were. Chuck will feel it in the coming days, I'm sure.

I'll check on Cathy tomorrow.

I just can't get over how lucky we were!

The Perfect Day

I thought I would break up the desert theme with this moose pic Mac sent me. I think he encountered it on a hike in his home state, Alaska.

The storm that arrived the day before, dissipated and left as quickly as it came. Another system is expected to roll in tonight. But at least we'll have a pleasant, but cool, window of sunshine today. Dave planned a hike for those interested this morning. We are to meet in front of the clubhouse after the Monday morning coffee and donuts meeting.

We had another perfect turnout of nine hikers. That's a group that's not too small for the effort of planning a hike. It is not too large either, so that we can all socialize while hiking and get to know one another better and above all, have a good time.

Cloie is all dolled up, GQ style, this cool crisp morning.

Our group hike today is in the same area Dave, Cathy and I took this Saturday. It's the loop through the Tucson Mountains around Golden Gate Mountain, near Gate's Pass. We thought it was so special, with the incredible views, that it should be experienced by the others too.

A look back down the valley near the trailhead.

There was Dave, Cathy, our Canadian friends Lorne and Leslie, Randy, Cathryn, Jim and Walt on this one. That's nine total, including myself... oh, I forgot to mention Rose and Cloie joined us as well. Make that eleven!


Our hike was about four and a half miles. It coursed between the mountain tops with a couple of short steep assents, nothing too serious, just enough to break up the relatively level trail and keep the hike interesting.

Going down!

We got back to the RV park before 1:30. I had enough time to make a run the local Walgreens to fill out a prescription. Cathy joined me. She had a couple of items to pick up. My prescription wouldn't be ready until after 4:30. Which meant I would have to make a return trip during rush hour. Something I have come to dread. I try to avoid a brush with the mainstream whenever possible. Today though, it looks like I'll have to negotiate the unavoidable traffic.

On our way home, I stopped at a road side vendor I spotted on my way to the store. I thought I saw cucumbers in the back of his pickup. I had a sudden craving for cucumber salad.

I swung into the dirt lot he was parked in and sure enough, I bought a package of them for a dollar. He also had a cooler of homemade tamales he was selling too. I picked up a dozen of them. On the rest of the way back, Cathy and I planned for a dinner of tamales, cucumber salad, and leftover rice and beans, she had in her fridge, for this evening.

The temps were predicted to dip in the night. Somewhere close to freezing. The wind is supposed to pickup too. I filled my fresh water tank, in case I have to disconnect my main water line, to prevent it from freezing. I also took the time to stow all the outdoor furnature in prep for the coming winds. Tucson winter is on the way!

While I was back at the pharmacy, I picked up a few more items and chose a bottle of Merlot wine, Cathy's choice, for tonights dinner. My normally, 20 minute trip, turned into an hour and a half, against the traffic. By the time I got back, I was frazzeled. One thing about this lifestyle; it spoils you whenever you have to deal with such things.

Dinner turned out great. There was one little faux pas on my part. That bottle of Merlot turned out to be made with blackberries, not grapes! Sheesh, sometimes it's tough to be a guy!

We watched a movie I TVOed over a year ago: Mr. Brooks. We wanted to watch a comedy, but nothing was playing on my DirrecTV menu. Mr. Brooks is a rather dark mystery-thriller, but captivating. It was one of those "sleepers" that never got much notice, but a good movie. Sometimes a good thriller can be a great date flick (wink)!

It was going on 11:00 when I got to bed. ... Does this ever have to end?! ...

A Quiet Day

My routine for posting is I usually post in the evening for yesterday's happenings. It's no different for this post. However, as I am writing this, I am listening to our President explain the need for the program he and his staff have put together to negotiate the road for the cure for our sagging economy. Being in this lifestyle, it is tough to understand what is going on in the real world.

We live in our little bubble out here. For many of us, our investments are our main artery to maintain our way of living. In my case, I try to live off of my modest, early retirement, pension. I don't plan to touch my investments until I am well into my upper 60's. That's another 10 years + down the line. I'm lucky. I also realize I may someday, have to work while I am on the road. I look forward to it.

I just hope things pick back up in the main stream. I think I may have opted out of that main stream at the perfect time.

That's it for my political side. Pretty radical, isn't it?

To get back to the journal; A storm blew in during the night. We had quite a bit of wind and rain. It was predicted and I wasn't about to plan anything for the day. It was a day when things just simply played out. I like those kind of days.

Cathy and I did a dog walk in the morning. It was a pleasant walk out on the trails right behind the park. Rose gets her exercise that way. Me too! When we get far enough away from the park, Cathy lets her loose from her leash. Today we had to be careful about that because of last night's rain. She recently had her bath and Cathy wanted her to stay clean.

Rose enjoys her freedom by running like crazy at imagined, and real, critters. We'll even get some distance between each other and she'll run back and forth as we call her. She's completely relentless!

I headed back to the rig where I had all good intentions of getting a few things done. I ended up watching the golf tournament and nodding off periodically.

I reheated the last of my New Years Day black eyed peas. I enjoyed dinner while watching the 60 Minute interview with Captain Sully. He's the guy that pulled off that amazing airline landing in the Hudson River. He is a pretty squared away guy.

It was a quiet day and I turned in early.

Hang'n Out Amidst the Activity

I forgot to mention the impromptu pot luck we had this week. Fajitas, pork salad and red beans and rice under the roof of the clubhouse porch. That's Randy, Cathryn, Cathy, Sam and Mac.

It's been a mellow two days for me. Most of the folks I know went to the Wilcox area for a tour of Fort Bowie. It is a 125 mile drive, one way. That's too far for me. By my peculiar reasoning, if I want to experience something more than say, 50-75 miles away, I'll most likely pack up and travel in that area and explore at leisure. Does that make sense? It works better for my amiable way of living and my situation.

Besides, I needed to get a prescription filled and run a few errands. I finished quickly and still had a large part of the morning ahead of me and most of the day. With so much time, I made a snap decision and drove to Nogales, Mexico. I wanted to see this outlaw town for myself. I also wanted to find a container to make a cactus garden with.

This is the fourth Mexican border town I've been to. I would not recommend anybody go to this one. All such towns are dirty and the tourists must endure high pressure sales tactics. That's all a part of the rough charm. Now, add into that a lack of tourists. Nogales has been experiencing a drug trafficking war and murders happen most nights, chasing the tourists away. I parked on the American side and walked to the Mexican side. Parking is a whole new experience in the narrow, vendor controlled lots. The directions to find the route to cross on foot are almost Impossible to follow, both entering Mexico, and leaving.

No more Nogales for me, thank you. I did find a garden container, though. I negotiated my price down to $20.00, from $30.00. I figure I over spent by only $15.00! When I got the pot home, I chipped it by accidentally banging it on the edge of the RV door! Sheesh!

That pretty much wrapped my day up. It was TV and a phone call before I called it a night.

The following day was another no plan day. Cathy invited me over for morning coffee. Our idea was to just let something pop into our head for an activity today. Before I could get my coffee cup out of the cupboard, I got a call from Cathy. Dave wants to go for a hike over by Gates pass. It's nearby and it is another great weather day, this day. We've been hearing all week that rain is on the way and this may be our last nice day for a while.

We got to the trail head sometime around 9:30. It was only the three of us and Cathy's dog and buddie, Rose. I had my back pack with me today. It's the first time I've worn it since my last hike in Glacier National Park. I threw some things together; trail mix, oranges, an extra bottle of water, my other camera lens, GPS, and a few other small items. Then I added Rose's liter of water and her collapsible water dish. I still had room in it, and I was able to lift it!

I never tire of these views

I won't go into the usual detail of this hike. It was one of the more scenic of the mountain hikes we took. There were severe ups and downs on some of the trail segments. When we first set out from the trail head, Cathy and I became separated from Dave. The trail we were following petered out. The shortest way we could figure to get back on track was to bushwhack across country, straight uphill, until we found the trail, and Dave. That's what we did and our strategy paid off. We caught sight of Dave and when within earshot, was able get his attention.

Cathy, myself, and Dave with Rose.

This 7 mile hike ended with a Geocache at about the 6 mile point. We got back to the trail head and headed for home. I made a jug of sun tea the day before and invited Cathy and Dave over when we got back. Dave had a problem with a sore heel and decided to ice it up instead.

It's tough to get a perspective of steepness with a camera. Even the pic of this view flattens out the terrain.

Cathy and I hung out the rest of the afternoon to music and watched the birds and the little ground squirrel out of the large window at the back of my trailer. The afternoon ended at Cathy's place, where she made a pasta, feta cheese, and vegetable dish with a Greek name. It was so good - with a taste twist I don't normally have.

Again, it was an early night ending to a big day!

Arrastra Revisited

Wednesday morning came around and there was nothing planned. The park's skeet shooters meet each Wednesday at the range three miles East of here. It's their regular shooting day. One of these days (I swear) I'll join them. I have a 12 gauge shotgun I bought more than ten years ago. I have yet to fire it. Back then, I was even making plans to retire. At that time, a shotgun made sense. I was thinking of duck hunting and deer hunting back in the Midwest with old friends and relatives.

The hunting opportunities never materialized. Now I have a shotgun I'll have to someday do something with. You can't take a gun to Canada or Mexico without hassles. I would eventually like to do some travels to see our neighbors' countries.

Cathy and I mulled the possibilities for today over coffee. I never got a chance to explore the ruins of the mining camp near the Arrastra Wash. That was the Geocache hike we made a few days earlier. Remember, the one with the black colored rocks that had coordinates hidden under them? Cathy wanted to make another attempt at finding the PVC pipe with the mining history inside of it.

We decided to give it another go. We quickly packed some water. I had my sunflower seeds and Cathy made up some peanut butter cracker snacks. We were at the parking spot near the wash before noon.

I grabbed my little pocket camera, rather than my larger SLR. Most of the pics for today didn't turn out as well as I would have liked. I did enjoy the freedom of nothing hanging around my neck, for a change!

Rather than take the trail to the site, we chose to walk the wash. Rose has been limping for two days now. We think it may be because of a bruised paw. The soft sandy wash would be better for her. She doesn't complain. She just does her thing. Sometimes on all fours and sometimes favoring that sore paw.

It was a nice hike through the shade of the wash. The cloudless sky and the noon time frame usually makes for a pleasantly warm hike. Today we appreciated the relative coolness the wash provided.

We somehow missed the trail out of the wash leading to the ruins and mine shafts. When we figured where we were, we realized we took a wrong fork in the wash and ended up a half mile too far. It's a good thing we're smart enough to figure it out! We caught a glimpse of a ruin on a distant hillside and were able to make the correction. We did hike through some neat areas via this detour!

As soon as we got to the mine area, we began to look for the PVC pipe. Several of the ruins are circular with a flat rock floor. There are a couple of ruins of old buildings too. It was the circular ruins that particularly got Cathy's curiosity. What were they?


I was at one end of the site looking for that PVC pipe. Cathy, the other. After a while, I heard a faint cry: "I found it!" I got to where I thought the voice was coming from, and there was Cathy grinning with a proud, smug look on her face, and a large black pipe in her hand. :)

Inside were several copies of a pamphlet explaining a particular hard rock mining process:


One of the popular ways of extracting gold from rock back then, was to use a Spanish 'arrastra'. The term itself, as I learned, means 'to drag'. The old miners built a simple round circle of rocks, acting as a retaining wall. They then, within this circle, laid down a flat rock floor. In the center of this was a post with a boom attached.

This crude turn style was usually propelled by a donkey. A rock attached to the boom crushed the ore. That explains the stone circles we found, and the name for Arrastra Wash. It began making sense.

I found this on the internet. It's a restoration/reconstruction of an Arrastra found in Colorado.

Now our curiosity is really piqued. When did all of this happen here? Did they really find gold? What was the name of the mine? I did some web surfing, looking for answers, but didn't come up with anything.

If anybody reading this has any information, please don't hesitate to give me an email, or leave a comment. It's the old mining area in the Tucson Mountain County Park, about 1 3/4 miles directly North of Brown Mountain.

I was so glad Cathy made the peanut putter cracker sandwiches. I was starved. Though I didn't let on. I think it's a guy thing! We polished off the snacks and rested with a little water. We scrounged for interesting rocks, explored some more, and found an animal's skull. We packed that back for Dave!

Rose was walking with little indication of her sore paw. She wasn't 100%, but we thought she was able enough for us to take the old wagon trail back, rather than the wash.

This sort of a find fascinates me.

Brown Mountain Geocache

Before I get started with today's post, I remembered I promised I would show you the walking sticks we made from saguaro ribs last week. We finally got them together. Here they are:


What, too far away? Let me get a little closer:


This is as close as it gets. This was really fun to do. They actually need no decorations, of course, to make a great walking stick. I like mine so well, I think I'll use it as a wall decoration. If I can only figure out where to hang it!

On this day we selected Brown Mountain to hike to. It is near the wash we walked to get to the previous Geocache. It was to be a simple hike up and back. But you know, nothing works simply.

A new couple arrived at the camp ground yesterday and they are avid hikers. They are Lisa and Lorne from Kelowna, BC. I warmed up to them right away when the laughed at one of my stupid jokes! All five of us hopped into Dave's car and drove the short distance to the trail head.

Lorne, Cathy, Lisa and Trail Blazer Dave on our wicked hike to the top of Brown Mountain.

Lorne's walking stick has a medallion tacked onto it from just about every location he has hiked at. The whole stick is virtually covered with these little metal medallions. It's actually been a long time European tradition to put a remembrance medallion on your stick. The tradition has recently made its way to this country. I would guess Lorne's stick now weighs several pounds more than when it was naked!

I am getting acclimated to the hiking thing. I never took on mountain challenges before. But now I can knock them off with only a minimal power nap when done. My feet no longer need to be elevated in the lounger either! Woohoo!!

The trail wound through the traditional flat desert terrain we've become accustomed to. Then we negotiated switchback after switchback and found the crest of the first mountain (unnamed) on the way to Brown Mountain. I was in my now traditional hiking position - caboose! I usually hear somebody in the distance say "Where's Steve?". Then I usually hear a faint reply from somebody else say "He's back there!". ...When I don't hear the reply, that's when I begin to worry!

It's tough to make out, but the barrel cactus, next to Cathy, is stunted - much like the crested saguaros. A first for us.

We crossed a ridge between the mountain we climbed up on which connected to Brown Mountain. The trail from here on was nice and level. Very little elevation change. I was looking at my GPS unit and the arrow pointing to the Geocache kept indicating it was above us. The trail did not go any higher.

Above us was about 80 feet of rock. In some areas, this rock became cliffs. I looked at Dave and he looked at me. I'll never forget his comment: "I didn't expect this!". Lorne, Dave and I looked around and the ladies were gone. Then we caught a glimpse of them, Cathy and Lisa, heading up the rock, hand over knees, on their way to the top. What!? We're the guys! We should be doing that!

No choice now. We followed. We got to the very top of the mountain without a trail to follow. My GPS unit still showed the cache to be at 50 feet on the other side from where we came. Lorne braved it and, after some scrounging, found it. He signed the log book and took a toy tiger. We left a Fry's grocery discount coupon Dave had. Per Geocache protocol, if you take something, leave something.

Big Dave, Trouper Lisa, Stalwart Lorne, and Sassy Cathy.

We rested and snacked on what we brought. In my case, nothing - except for the sunflower seeds I always have with me. Who knew! See what I mean about nothing working simply!

Going back down.

We carefully scrambled back down to the trail. Now we are pushing the limits by making a slight detour to another cache. I made the mistake of down loading another Geocache in the area to my unit. Then I made another mistake by telling everybody there was another cache nearby. We now have a new goal and we were on our way.

The next cache was easy by comparison. It was up a small (last year it would have been a large) hill on the way back to the car. A different way than was originally planned on. But on the way none the less!

Those behind Dave are looking into the goodies.

Lorne found this one too. The toy tiger we took from the previous cache, we placed in this cache. We took a small polished blue stone and signed the log book.

Ah, one thing about a mountain hike, everything is down hill on the way back. We made quick time from here. We were at Dave's car and on the way home before you could say; "Hey, there's a dead saguaro!".


I had to take my now trademark pic of a dead saguaro on the way back. It's a quirky thing I think I've come to develop! But then, I'm a quirky thing...

There was enough time left in the day that I came by Dave's trailer for a lesson with my GPS. I use only the very basic functions and he knows how to use other things. I brought a few beers by as my bribe for some new knowledge.

I also dropped my metal detector off at Mac and Sam's place. I hope they help me figure it out. ...This is another whole different story! ... stay tuned :)

I did work our way through a class, over at Dave's. Shortly, it was time for dinner. Tiny's Saloon was it. It was $4.00 for 1/2 pound hamburgers. Even though it's now past my bedtime, I really like this socializing with my new friends!

The Day After the Super Bowl

Dave planned a hike to Madera Canyon for us. It was planned last week and there was a high interest in making this hike. I had to bow out of this one. I had too much to take care of as far as getting some of the food, utensils, chairs and everything else back to the people they belong to. I also had an issue with not being in the "pink" well enough to do a big hike.

I was happy to hear that there was a good turn out. There were eight hikers altogether, from what I was told. The hike was not as strenuous as I thought it might be. They hiked to a point called "Josephine's Saddle" and they all came back with great reviews.

Cathy wanted to see the Desert Museum ever since she arrived in Tucson, before Christmas. I thought, if she is willing, this would be a good day to do that. That's what we did today. At 10:00 we left for the museum. We wanted to be there in time to see the raptor flight display which begins at 10:30.

At the entrance to the museum were two falcon handlers, each holding the smallest of the falcon family, the American Kestrel. They were fascinating. Enough so, that our trip to the raptor exhibit was enjoyably delayed.

American Kestrel

We did make it to see the largest of the owl family perform; the Great Horned Owl. The area this is done in is actually on one of the normal paths and not the best for spectator viewing. The show finished off with the next bird, the largest of the hawk family; the Ferruginous Hawk. If you would like to see these shows for yourself, I would recommend you get there early and defend your space! By the way, admission to the Museum is $13.00 for adults and the raptor exhibits are at no extra charge.

I won't go into detail here about the park. For a detailed referral, please see the write up of my post from last year by clicking here.

I have come to know Cathy gradually over the last month I have been at Diamond J's RV Park. She is a beautiful, remarkably stable girl with an infectious personality, loves the outdoors, and she has definitely, undeniably, captured my attention. I don't think I have met someone so likable as she.

We spent the next seven hours getting to know one another better. We lunched and leisurely toured all the exhibits. We found a quiet nook in a shaded area of the park's cactus garden and spent some serene, secluded quality time. We left for home when the sun became low, while some of the vendors were closing down. It was a very special, unforgettable day for me. I hope it was mutual.

Super Bowl and a Party!

I committed to have everyone over to my rig for Super Bowl Sunday. Nobody of course, is from Arizona, but we have come to adopt the Cardinals as our team! Nothing though, is a easy as that. We have a couple from Pennsylvania, Chuck and Barb, die hard Steelers' fans and our spoilers!

None of us feel that way, but hey, this is sports. There always has to be friendly opposition. Chuck and Barb are super folks. Chuck brought over a pot of his own recipe, home made, Chile. Even the beans were soaked from scratch. He should submit his Chile to the Arizona State Chile Cook Off in Casa Grande. It's held every year on the first Saturday in March.

Before I got any of the pre-party preps done, new blog readers Mary Alyce and Alden stopped by to say hello. They have been following my blog for a couple of weeks now. They live near the RV park. While on an evening stroll, they picked my site up from the sign I have hanging from my trailer hitch. I knew that sign would work one of these days! :)

Mary Alyce and Alden

We chatted for a while. It is so reassuring for me to know that people actually read what I'm writing. They have booked for a stay in the lodge at Madera Canyon based on the post of our picnic last week. I hope they enjoy their stay. It is really a nice area.

Feed back is good for me. It helps me understand what I am doing right and what may need improving. There are all sorts of ways to reach out. There is the "shout" box on the side bar. There is my email address listed on my personal card there too. And there is always the "comments" option at the end of each post.

At a little after 2:00 people started filtering over to my site. I had my bedroom TV set up on a table next to the trailer. I knew there was no chance of seeing much until the sun offered up some shade. That wouldn't happen until close to the end of the first quarter of the game.


In addition to Chuck's Chile, Cathryn made a dish of Chile Rellenos. Sam brought over all kinds of chips, cheeses, weenies, sausage and I'm sure I'm forgetting something - oh yeah, Sangria wine. Cathy made her Tomatillo Salsa. I opened a bag of pretzels. We had beer, wine, Dr. Pepper, and water. All set for the game.

We had a great time. By half time, people began to filter off to watch the commercials. By the fourth quarter, the few of us left moved into the trailer to get out of the cold. When it looked hopeless for the Cardinals, I put on the movie "Wild Hogs", Jim loaned to me. I completely missed the Arizona come-back, and the last second winning play by the Steelers.

I'll never forget this Super Bowl!

Geocaching in the Arrestra Wash

Another sun shiny day in the desert. The winds that have blown for the last two days began to subside this morning. A group of us planned a hike to an old mining operation in the Tucson Mountain Park. I looked the area up on the Geocache website and found a cache on the route we are to take. Great! I downloaded it to my unit and made several copies of the cache description to pass out among the hikers.

We congregated in front of the Clubhouse, which is now a routine gathering point prior to a hike. There were nine people and four dogs. We expected the hike to be on the easy side and thought it would be okay to take a few of the pets with us. We piled into four cars for the short trip to the park. The trail head is only three miles directly behind our park, but the road to get there is a nine mile route.

At the trail head. Mac is showing his new fanny pack.

We made the trail head, Arrestra Wash, by 10:30. Plenty of time to do the hike and be back to our RV's with a lot of daylight remaining. Dave and I turned on our GPS receivers and queued the first way point.

For this Geocache, the challenge is to find a black painted rock which Dave and I have the coordinates for. Under the rock are the coordinates for a second black painted rock. Under the second rock are the coordinates for the final cache. Sound complicated? Naw!

Petroglyphs in the wash near the uphill trail.

We walked the wash until it turned to a trail leading uphill and into the desert. My GPS unit showed the rock we are looking for to be in the wash near the uphill trail. Dave's unit showed it to be farther up on the trail. We split up. Randy found it on the uphill portion.

Now my experience with my GPS unit began to show. I could not figure how to manually program the coordinates into my unit. Cathy was helping and I was fumbling and mumbling a few choice words. Finally I got them in and was so happy about it I gave Cathy a big kiss. That caused a reaction from the rest. Sam said: "get a room!". Dave conned Cathy into giving him a kiss. It was a Kodak moment, and of course, I didn't get a pic.

Jim with Teddy and Carol with Jenny

On we went. We were no longer in the wash. We were following an old over grown road with gradual uphill grade. It was one of the more overgrown trails I walked. It was tough on the small dogs too. They had to be carried to avoid getting cactus spikes stuck in their paws. It was an unexpected development. By now there was no wind and the temps were escalating. Carrying a small dog at this point in time is like wearing a fur coat in a sauna!

Sam, with her newly crafted saguaro rib walking stick, and Cathy.

We found the second rock and got the coordinates for the final cache. By now Carol was not a happy camper! She is not a hiker and was obligated to carry Jenny over this uphill stretch in the heat. She had planned on a leisurely stroll with her camera, taking her time to get photos of the desert plants and rock formations. So far, very few pics.

The final cache was located at the ruins of an old mining operation. It consisted of an ammo box with toys and trinkets and a log book. There was no pencil in the cache, so we didn't log the find. Protocol tells us to leave something in the cache before we rehide it. Nobody had anything to leave. I had my stash of sunflower seeds I always eat while hiking. I was FORCED to give them up as our donation.

Cathryn is sorting through the find.

The cache write-up indicated there was a PVC tube somewhere near the final cache that told of the history of the mine. We couldn't find it. There are remains of buildings and funny little stone circles all over the place. It would be interesting to find out more info of the site.

We lingered here and inspected one of the mine shafts. A few explored the area looking for ruins and other shafts. Some of us headed back to the trail head. The hike back is via the Arrestra Wash which turned out to be the very easy, leisurely stroll we were expecting.

Mac emailed this pic of me. I usually am behind the camera, so this doesn't happen often.

I hung toward the back of the pack. I wanted to see to it that Carol had all the time she needed to use her camera and get the pictures she wanted. This hike was planned to be fun for everyone and I wanted to make sure Carol had the opportunities she was expecting.

A delicate seed on the trail.

She later composed a super poem of her experience. I'm still trying to convince her to give me a copy so I can post it. Stay tuned!

When we got back to the RV park, I socialized at Jim and Carol's. Then it was a nap for me. I've been waking up in the middle of the night for some reason lately. I don't usually take naps. Maybe it's the naps that make me wake up in the middle of the night!

Jim with Jenny, Cathryn, Randy, Carol and Dave. Cathy is sitting with Cloie. Mac and Sam hiked on ahead and are at the cars by now.

The rest of us went our own way or broke up into groups for more socializing. Retirement on the road can't be beat!