Week ending Thursday, Mar 27 Florence, Phoenix, Needles

Thursday we moved to the Phoenix area to Desert Gardens RV park in Florence. It is our first really disappointing park. The price is high, (most expensive park we have stayed in since hitting the US) but customer service and amenities are lacking. They are a Good Sam park, but only gave us the discount for the first night, a first for us. They have a separate wi-fi provider that you need to pay for service on-line, but in speaking to other rv'ers the bandwidth isn't good. The "party line" here is they are too remote to be able to get a good signal.  There is a RV park next door and we have been able to piggy back on to their free wi-fi.  Has anyone ever heard of a dryer who's temp can't be changed? This RV park has those special dryers. But every now and again you have to choose a loser, it makes us appreciate the rest.

 

Friday morning we went into Florence to McDonalds to use their wi-fi. John posted last week's blog and I had a few minutes chat with John's Dad, but I was standing outside and hearing was difficult. We then went shopping, replacing our old sleeping bags that have lasted us more than 10 years.  Afterwards, of course, we watched women's curling.

 

Saturday we watched some more curling and then headed for Casa Grande Ruins National Historic site. The Casa Grande was abandoned around 1450 C.E.by the ancient Sonoran Desert People. Since there was no written language left behind, written historic accounts of the Casa Grande begin with the journal entries of Padre Eusebio Francisco Kino when he visited the ruins in 1694. In his description of the large ancient structure before him, he wrote the words "casa grande" (or "great house") which are still used today. More became known about the ruins with the later visits of Lt. Col. Juan Bautista de Anza's expedition in 1775 and Brig. Gen. Stephen Watts Kearny's military detachment in 1846. Subsequent articles written about the Casa Grande increased public interest. During the 1860's through the 1880's more people began to visit the ruins with the arrival of a railroad line twenty miles to the west and a connecting stagecoach route that ran right by the Casa Grande. The resulting damage from souvenir hunting, graffiti and outright vandalism raised serious concerns about the preservation of the Casa Grande. President Benjamin Harrison set aside one square mile of Arizona Territory surrounding the Casa Grande Ruins as the first prehistoric and cultural reserve established in the United States.

 

 

After our educational stop we went to Don and Jackie Scott's for dinner.  Jill and her three boys where there so we had a nice visit with them. Don BBQ'd for us, we had a really nice dinner out on their patio. Always wonderful to met up with good friends when we are both enjoying different parts of the world. They will be heading back to Calgary about the same time we are, so who knows we may meet them somewhere along I-15.

 

Sunday we wanted to go for a hike. The rv park people didn't know where there was hiking around so they suggested we go into Florence to visitor information. Off we went, only to discover visitor info isn't open on weekends. Why would someone who's business is dealing with tourist know that????? We then decided to follow the Arizona state map and do a scenic drive.  Part way into the drive we say a sign to the Picketpost trailhead.  

 

 

Today was the day of 2 happy accidents. First we tripped over this hike. What a neat hike. We met a number of people on the trail and one fellow gave us tips for further hikes in the area. He was a local hiker who commented that hiking season was pretty much over  because it was getting to hot to hike.

 

 

The second good accident was while driving on a dirt road across the desert, a short cut back to town between 2 highways, we came across a "town of Rocks". At least that's what we named it.  It was very similar, but smaller than the City of Rocks state park we saw in New Mexico. The Rocks in this area seemed very much like the ones in New Mexico, so could well have been the result of a volcanic eruption.It is on private land, not protected from people adding graffiti. Unfortunately no amount of research could find out what caused this anomaly in the area.

 

 

 We got back to the trailer in time to watch the gold medal women's curling final.

 

Monday we headed to a hike up Peralta Canyon, which was recommended by the fellow we encountered Sunday. It was a special area. The hike was much more rugged and had far more elevation gain than we expected, but the views were spectacular.  We almost felt as if we were in the Canadian Rockies. We even found a stream with water. We have decided that in the future we will come back to the Superstition Mountains to do more hiking. 

 Tuesday we moved again. We have come to the conclusion that making reservations isn't necessary.  We headed for Needles California. We thoughly enjoyed the drive. Great scenery, Mountains with wonderful colours, the red rocks of the Colorado River are starting to appear. The fact the temp has climbed into the low 30's was terrific, considering the high in Calgary was - 7 C. We arrived at Desert View RV park about 3:00 P.M. A really nice park, ok wi-fi, level, decent sites. The host took us to our site and a while later his wife appeared to collect the fees and let us know we can stay as long as we like. Our belief that reservations are a waste of time seem to be proving true. About an hour after we got settled the hostess came by to invite us to a steak dinner the next night. Lucky us. The park owners have a steak BBQ in appreciation for their guests at the end of the winter season. We are included because we are here. What a deal. Our evening was spent vegging in front of the TV as well as looking for hikes for tomorrow.

 

Wednesday we spent exploring Needles. It looked like a tired little town.  When talking to people from the park, we find this area was specially hard hit by the recession. The nicest part of the whole town is this rv park. We visited the BLM office to pick up some information and maps. After coming back to the trailer and lazing around all afternoon before heading over to the appreciation dinner. We met numerous fellow campers and had a great steak dinner. This is a park we would definitely return to, if in the area.

 

Thursday was moving day. We were on the road before 8:00 A.M., a very early start for us. We stopped at Searchlight Nevada for diesel and breakfast. While there we chatted with a couple who were heading back home to High River Alberta (we noticed the t-shirt). They live only a few blocks from Trev and family.  I warned them that this morning it was snowing in Calgary and area. They had checked the weather out on wi-fi, but their health insurance runs out on April 1st, so have to go back. 

 

Our route to Valley of Fire State Park took us through Lake Mead National Rec Area.  We got some nice photos along the way.  

 

 

 

 

We arrived at Valley of Fire State Park about noon.  They have a few sites for rv's with electric and water.   Luckily we got the last one available.  We are back in red rock country, a favourite location of ours. Nevada state parks are fairly costly and do not have the same amenities we had come to take for granted in the Texas state parks. but the red rock scenery can't be beat. Just before dinner we spoke to some neighbours that had an Alberta licence plate and a Shaw satellite dish. It turns out they are from Okotoks and like us are working their way slowly back to Alberta. However they have to be back within the week, as their insurance runs out April 3rd, we are good until April 17th.

Week ending Mar 20, 2014 Faywood NM, Benson AZ

Friday we moved to Faywood Hot Springs.  We went through what is likely to be the last border patrol checkpoint we will encounter as we have left the Mexican border. Faywood is a high desert oasis of natural geothermal pools, quite an odd little spot in the desert.   After getting set up we soaked in 2 different pools.  When the people in the pool above us left, we went to the higher pool, which is hotter than the one below it.  They have an unusual setup here, eleven concrete soaking pools, some larger and hotter than others, none hold more than 10 people. There are private pools, which require additional fees, others are clothing optional. The complex is under new ownership and the place is undergoing improvements.

Saturday we headed into  Silver City.   On the way we passed some active strip mines, and as the day was windy, the dust from the mines really caused havoc with the areas air quality. The town of Silver City was interesting. After silver was discovered, there were thousands of miners in the town. After a major fire, the founding fathers decided that the town should be "built to last" and as a result passed an ordinance that all buildings after 1880 must be of masonry construction.  Much larger than we expected, in fact we were able to buy some CLR septic, a product we have been unable to find since we left Canada.  After our stop at Ace hardware we picked up a downtown walking guide. We stopped at the Big Ditch, named after the Panama Canal, which was Main Street before a flood wiped out all but one building on Main Street. 

We then visited the local museum which covered numerous events in the area as well as touched on numerous ghost towns in southwest New Mexico.  There are also many galleries of local artists.

We arrived back at the trailer in time to watch the last half of the first women's world curling game, and have another soak in a geothermal pool.

Sunday morning we watched women’s world curing before going to The City of Rocks State Park, about 3 miles from the hot springs.  The rock formations in the park are the result of a volcanic eruption 33 million years ago, and many years of erosion.  We followed an interpretive trail which had stops along the way on a scale representing the relative positions of the planets of the solar system, and some nearby galaxies with signs describing each celestial object.    It is a really interesting park and we enjoyed hiking amongst the rock formations.

 After lunch we went for another soak in the hot pools.

Monday morning was time to move on to Benson Az.   We enjoyed the drive through the mountains, It was a beautiful day with a bright blue sky. We crossed into Arizona, which is on Mountain Time, but doesn’t move the clock ahead for daylight savings time, so we arrived at Pato Blanco Lakes RV Park an hour earlier than expected.  We got set up, watched the last few ends of curling and then walked around the park.  This park had a St Paddy’s day potluck Monday night at 5:30, for which they provided corn beef, cabbage, potatoes and carrots.  We picked up some shamrock cookies to contribute for dessert.  We met many of our neighbours, overate and generally had a very good time. This park is one of our favourites so far.

Tuesday we explored Colossal Cave State Park.  We went on a tour of the cave.   Unlike most limestone caves which are carved out by sulphuric acid dripping down through the limestone, this one was initially formed from sulphuric acid rising in a pool from the bottom.  Well worth the visit and the guide was most informative.

 After the tour of the cave we went on an interpretive trail called the Path of the Ancestors, and learned all sorts of things about the natives who lived in the area thousands of years ago.  This is one of the "bedrock mortars" which they used to grind grain.

While driving to a picnic site for lunch a roadrunner raced across the road in front of us. As usual he was too fast for us to get a picture.   After lunch we did a scenic drive south to Sonoita, across to Whetstone and then back to Benson. While driving back toward Benson, we had to stop once again for a border patrol check-point.  

After our swim Wednesday morning we headed south to Bisbee, near the Mexican border.   Once known as “the Queen of the Copper Camps”, this Old West mining camp proved to be one of the richest mineral sites in the world, producing nearly three million ounces of gold and more than eight billion pounds of copper, as well as silver, lead and zinc.  In the early 1900s, Bisbee was the largest city between St. Louis and San Francisco, with a population of over 20,000 people and was one of the most cultured cities in the Southwest.   Despite its culture, however, the rough edges of the mining camps could be found in notorious Brewery Gulch, with its saloons and shady ladies. Brewery Gulch, which in its heyday boasted upwards of 47 saloons and was considered the "liveliest spot between El Paso and San Francisco". Bisbee offered other recreational pursuits in that it was home to the state’s first community library, an opera house, the state’s oldest ball fields and the state’s first golf course. When the mines shut down in the 1970's it almost became a ghost town. However, the hippy generation found Bisbee an ideal, attractive, and inexpensive location to settle and pursue their artistic endeavors.  Does this story sound like Canmore?  The small town's legacy has long been preserved not only in its architecture and mining landscape, but is world-renowned for its diverse minerals and wealth of copper.

One of the highlights in town are the stained glass scenes in St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church.

Our next stop was  Tombstone. The name of the town has an interesting origin.   When prospector Ed Schieffelin said he was going to go prospecting in Apache territory, someone told him the only thing he would find out there would be his tombstone.    When he discovered silver, he named his mine Tombstone.    Tombstone conjures up images of the OK Corral gunfight, dusty streets, whiskey and Faro games, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and a plethora of old western movie scenes.  But what many folks don't realize is that Tombstone AZ is a real town with real inhabitants who have lived here throughout its history and still do today. That is part of the reason Tombstone has been called "The Town Too Tough to Die".  

On our way back to Benson we again were stopped at a border patrol checkpoint.  When will they ever stop?  Not really a problem, as we usually only have to stop for a few of seconds while they take a quick look through the windows.

Thursday was moving day. We headed for Florence AZ, just out of Phoenix. After getting set up we did a walk around the park.   Now that we are in Arizona we are encountering many more Alberta snowbirds. 

Week ending Mar 13, 2014 Big Bend, El Paso, Texas

Friday we explored Terlingua, which is a ghost town.  

 

In 1890, cinnabar ore was discovered here, and Terlingua became the world's quicksilver capital.   After looking through a store that sells numerous locally made items we stopped at the only coffee shop for a smoothie, a perfect treat on a warm day.   At 5:00 we headed over to the RV park's pavilion for BBQ brisket.  It was a pot luck dinner, with the campground host smoking a brisket the day before,  and everyone else bringing various dishes.   All in all it worked very well with many salads, lots of baked beans and rice dishes. We took cheese, naan strips, and a tray of fresh vegetables. We had a great evening visiting with all our neighbours. We got a tip about a good hike that starts and ends at the RV park.

 

John discovered a website that listed the top 5 hikes in Big Bend National Park. Saturday we headed; out to do a couple.  The first was Santa Elena Canyon through which the Rio Grande cuts; a spectacular views, about 1 3/4 miles return.  

 

 

 

After stopping at Castalon historic site in the park to eat our lunch,

 

 

we drove to our next trail head,  Cattail Falls,  for a 3 mile return hike.   The falls only had a trickle of water, as they only run strongly after recent rain.   

 

 

 We got back to the trailer in time to watch the Brier 3:4 page playoff.

 

Sunday was our usual day to hang around the trailer.   We did laundry, watched the bronze medal curling, then the Nascar race and finally the gold medal men's curling.  You can see why we took the day off from hiking. We also did some research as to future RV park.

 

Monday morning after housecleaning, we went on a hike recommended by the campground owners. It is a short hike,  just under 3 miles, starting and ending at the campground. John got basic directions and drew a map of the trail with the host's help.  The route took us through an interesting wash/canyon.  The trail was picturesque and well worth the walk.

 

 

Tuesday was moving day. We left BJ's RV park early because our drive was 5 1/4 hours,  not including  any stops. We always have breaks for coffee, diesel, picture, groceries and other things, so we always add 2 hours to the estimated travel time.   For some unknown reason, the GPS took us to Fort Davis and then across to US90, instead of just heading west on 90.  We didn't think we had a scenic route option chosen, but it was a nice drive.  We arrived at Anthony, New Mexico (2 miles from Anthony Texas) at about 2:30. The campground owners where away and due back about 4:00 according to the note on the door.  A friendly fellow who works at the campground part-time helped us choose a site so we could get set up. 

 

Wednesday was shopping day in El Paso.   We checked for a couple of things at Camping World, but they did not have what we wanted.   Then we went to a place called Saddleblanket. It is 2 acres of interesting Western and Mexican furniture and goods but we didn't make any purchases.    At Wal-Mart we were able to get our RV toilet chemicals about 4.00 less per container than at Camping world. Our grocery stop was Albertson's, the first one we've seen since Billings Montana.   Our final stop was the New Mexico travel information to pick up an old-fashioned map to keep Greta, our GPS, honest.

 

Thursday was our day to some of El Paso sights that we believed would be interesting.  We headed through Franklin Mountains State park to Fort Bliss Museum.  The museum is on the army base, so we went through a checkpoint to get onto the base. The nice young fellow said he didn't think we looked like terrorist and our Canadian passports would suffice as I.D.  The museum was extensive and interesting, covering all the wars from the Mexican/American wars to present day.   Our next stop was the visitor information in downtown El Paso, where we were lucky to get free parking for the day.  They provided us with a self guided walking tour of the historic downtown,  as well as other info booklets.  After having a nice lunch at a little hole-in-the-wall deli,  we did the walking tour, which highlighted the buildings in downtown El Paso. 

 

 

 After the walking tour we stopped at the El Paso Art Museum, which also had no admission charge.  Interesting.  Perhaps the problems they are having with the Mexico drug wars has taken it toll on El Paso and they are trying to make it as easy as they can for tourists.  The Art Museum has good sections on western art, renaissance artists, and some modern local artists.   On our way back to the RV park, we stopped at  La Vina Winery, where Joan did some wine tasting and chose a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Week ending Mar 6, 2014 Texas: Seminole Canyon, Big Bend

Our cool weather has been replaced by nice hot days.  We spent Friday on a road trip to see the Pecos River Canyon as well as Langtry of Judge Roy Bean fame.  Judge Roy Bean was an eccentric U.S. saloon-keeper and Justice of the Peace in Val Verde County, Texas, who called himself "The Law West of the Pecos".  

 

According to legend, Judge Roy Bean held court in his saloon along the Rio Grande in a desolate stretch of the Chihuahuan Desert of southwest Texas. After his death, Western films and books cast him as a hanging judge, though he is known to have sentenced only two men to hang, one of whom escaped.  At the Judge Roy Bean Museum there was an extensive cactus garden, well labelled and explaining what the various cacti where used for.  The Canyon along the Pecos River as well as looking across the Rio Grande Canyon into Mexico was spectacular.

 

 

Saturday we did the 6 1/2 mile hike to the Rio Grande River from the campground. What a wonderful hike through the desert. We knew the day was going to be hot, about 28 C, so we left early in the morning, getting back by 1:30. While at the viewpoint overlooking the Rio Grande river, we saw a pair of tortoises in the river.  

 

 

 

We also saw numerous butterflies and birds along the trail. One of the neater birds we saw along the way, were a pair of hummingbirds, smaller than any we have ever seen, around the desert flowers.   They were too quick for us to get a picture.

 

 

 

Sunday was recovery day.  Of course it was also the first Sunday of the Brier as well as a Nascar race.

 

Monday morning we woke up to find that our water hose had frozen.  Not enough to cause damage, just enough to not have water.   What a difference 24 hour makes.  Sunday morning it was 17C when we woke up, Monday morning -3C.  Typically for desert climate, by noon it was back up to a decent temp; sunny and 18C.  After getting some of our stuff packed for tomorrow's departure we watched a bird start to build a nest on our satellite dish.  It is going to be very disappointed tomorrow after we leave, having done all this work for nothing.   While watching the afternoon brier draw we finally noticed  a  pair of roadrunners run through our camp site. They quickly turned around and ran back as someone was walking down the road.  Just so as everyone knows we didn't hear the traditional beep-beep of cartoon fame.   We did get a picture, but it was too blurry.

 

Tuesday was moving day. We left Seminole Canyon early, by 8:30, heading for BJ's rv park in Terlingua.  It is perfectly situated between Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park.  It was a long drive, by the time we stopped for groceries and diesel it was almost 4:00 P.M.  We got set up in time to watch the end of the afternoon Brier draw. The evening was spent surfing the internet for hiking recommendations in Big Bend National Park.

 

Wednesday the campground owner came by (he was away yesterday when we checked in) to invite us to a BBQ Friday night. They will be starting to smoke a brisket today.  John is thrilled, and I can hear our friend Kris smacking her lips. All I have to do is figure out a side dish to bring.  We then headed for the National Park. We were happy to see that the bluebonnets are blooming, so spring has arrived.   

 

 

 

What an interesting area; so different from the rest of Texas.

 

 

 

Much of the rock formations are the result of volcanic activity many years ago, laid over softer sedimentary rock from when the area was under the ocean.  

 

We picked up a hiking guide book, a tee shirt and a guide to all the Texas roadside stops at park headquarters. It cost us a 20.00 park entrance fee for one week.  I have always thought that Canada could take to page out of the US National Park system and have a weekly or monthly fee instead of just the daily or yearly fee. Our first hike was to Balanced Rock, a short trip only 1 mile each way, but the last 1/4 was a steep scramble, so took some time and care as the route was very rocky.  We then drove to Chisos Basin, which had a small grocery store, for an ice cream treat, and a short walk to a viewpoint looking out on "the window".  

 

 

 

It was an interesting experience, being one of the very few places where the trees are above the 'tree line'.  Again we got home in time to watch part of the afternoon draw of the Brier.

 

Thursday we decided that Fort Leaton would be an interesting destination. We found there is truth in the saying that it is the journey not the destination. We drove FM170, the highway along the Rio Grande through Big Bend Ranch State Park.  The highway is considered by National Geographic as one of the most scenic in the US. We have to agree. 

 

 

It is not recommended for larger RV's, as there are many sharp corners and has one 15% hill that the Rio Grande cuts through.   We were surprised to find Fort Leaton closed when we reached it so we continued to Presidio to fill up with diesel and pick up some vegetables for tomorrow's BBQ.   We returned to Fort Leaton to have lunch, just as they opened the site, so we did get to go through it.

 

 

 Along the way back through the state park, we stopped and did two short hikes,  one 1.1 miles to hoodoos and interesting rock formations along the Rio Grande and another  through beautiful Closed Canyon.  The canyon hike was supposed to be 1.4 miles return, but with the rock scrambling it felt longer.  We didn't get all the way down to the river, because we decided one of the many small 'water falls' would be a bit too tall to climb back up. 

 

 

Again we got back to the trailer in time to watch part of the final afternoon curling draw.