We Moved Twice and Two Days In Between

We are presently at Quail Ridge RV Park in Huachuca City, AZ. 

We could see snow on the Huachuca Mountains as we
got closer to our destination Saturday.

Saturday, March 25, 2023 (How we got where we are. Tucson to Quail Ridge RV)

While I was doing dishes this morning this dove
was fascinated with trying to attach to the Stinger "B".
Since it could not it decided to walk around on the 
Little Black Limo. (Picture is through the screen.)

This was our view sitting at our table.
Bottom left closeup of nest.

We pulled out of our site around10:30 this morning and began our ride East then South to Quail Ridge RV Park.

I have taken pictures of these Saguaros several times and

always for the same reason. When we are heading East on

AZ-86 towards I-10 and this will be the last time 

we will see these guys for this adventure.

Goodbye for now Majestic Saguaros we will miss seeing you.
 Hope to see you again in the near future. 

Tucson in the distance.

Tucson does have some nice fences on their overpasses.

We have done the ride on I-10 at least once a year between Tucson and Whetstone some years twice going East and West. I have taken hundreds of pictures and today I decided to just enjoy the ride and the views. Today's ride was a short one only 74 miles. 

Going by the Whetstone Mountains on AZ-90

Another view of the Huachuca Mountains as we got 
 close to our destination.

It was about 12:30pm when we arrived at our destination, Quail Ridge RV Park. No one was in the office but our paperwork was outside the door. Like we have several times in the past we unhooked the Jeep just past the office and then drove to our assigned site. This is a very nice RV park and we actually started staying here in 2015 when we still had our 5th Wheel. Since then we have stopped here at least once a year. This is not a fancy park but the staff is always friendly, the grounds are always clean, and the price is excellent. It is a quiet place and our type of park. It has always been an enjoyable stop.

Thursday and Friday, March 23 & 24, 2023 (The Two Days In between)

We spent three nights at Justin's Diamond RV Park in Tucson; it was right around 2:30 on Wednesday when we arrived. After getting checked in and the Jeep unhooked we drove over to our site which Tom backed into amazingly well. Unfortunately, I had directed him in to our patio area, I have no idea what I was thinking,  a simple pull forward and another back up and he was in place. I set up a few things inside and headed over to the Walmart to pick up a curbside order I had placed a couple days earlier. Then a quick stop at Fry's and home to get it all put away. 

I had given Nancy, Kissack Adventures, a call to let her know we had finally made it to Tucson. More about that below. She very nicely decided she would take the time to make the drive over to see us on Thursday. We had not connected all winter so we were really looking forward to this visit and were grateful, that even with her plan for leaving the next day, she took the time to come our way. A fun visit that flew by way to fast. All to soon we were getting hugs, saying safe travels, see you down the road, and she was off.

You will notice this section of the blog is devoid of pictures. The reason would be I did not take one picture on either Thursday or Friday. I did think of it after Nancy left but then that was a little to late. I have included the picture of the beautiful quilt she gave us but I must admit it is "borrowed"  from her blog.

So pretty, Thank You Nancy!

Nancy, also, willingly took some material I had brought with us this trip. This was material I had found when going through my Mom's material and it included a quilt top my mom had sewn. I am looking forward to seeing what she does with it.

Friday was another day we were really looking forward to.  Our friends Melissa and Lyle from Canada where back in the states after their winter adventures overseas. The last time we saw them was almost three years ago in March of 2020 so we were truly looking forward to this visit. I had just said to Tom I thought they would be here by now when we heard car doors open and there they were.  After hugs all around the talking started and continued throughout the afternoon. We did some catching up and talked about to many things to remember. Without missing a beat we fell right back into the easy conversation that has always happened when we are together. It was a fun afternoon with special friends that ended all to soon. Hugs and see you again soon and they were off. 

Now you would think after not remembering to take a picture with Nancy the day before I would be better at remembering to do so today. I need to write on my hand when we are getting together with friends, Take A Picture! Because the answer would be no, again, I did not remember until they were gone. Pictures or no pictures the memories of these two days visiting with friends will not be forgotten they have been placed in our memory book.

Tom and I were down the road a ways before I remembered I had not taken any pictures of the RV Park not even our site. It is a nice RV Park and we would definitely stay here again if we decide to stop in Tucson. The hope is to do so, maybe next year, but for a longer visit.

Wednesday, March 22, 2023 (Our First Move From Why To Tucson)

The plan if you read our last post was to leave Why for Tucson on Tuesday but the wind had a different plan and we did not leave until Wednesday. When we got up Wednesday morning it was raining and the wind was still with us. The weather predictors said it would end around 10 o'clock so trusting that we started to finish getting ready to leave. The wind did stop but it was still raining at 10 though around 10:30 it was just misting and we decided it was time to go. Tom pulled over to dump our tanks, we hooked up the Jeep, and turned onto AZ-86 heading East at a few minutes after 11 o'clock. 

Pulling out of our site at Coyote Howls East.
Most of the mountains around us where lost in the mist.
One tiny purple flower as I stepped into the Jeep.
Bottom picture: I could see the dry spots where we had been.

Still misting as we hooked up the Jeep but the mountains 
in the distance had reappeared.

We are on AZ-86 heading East and below are some of our views along the way.

Even on this day with no sun shining we could see the
yellow and green on the mountains.

Our Border Patrol on the Job.
Thank you for the job you do!

I do not take pictures of a lot of water towers 
this one stood out and looked so pretty 
against the dark of the clouds and mountains.

The road ahead and as you can see does not look smooth.

We went by a lot of these guys

and these guys.

For about half of our 112 miles today this is
pretty much what the road looked like.

Did I mention not smooth?

Clouds were hanging over what I believe are the 
Quinlan Mountains.

These mountains were looking more to the north and east.

AZ-86 did get better around Sells, AZ but as we got
closer to Tucson you can see what it looked like.

The sun trying to make its way out into our day.

Our destination and the sky did start to clear of clouds.

The comments and pictures about AZ-86 are for us to remember what it was like when we took it this time. Would we take this route again with our motorhome towing the Jeep? Going back up to I-8 it would have been 190 miles versus the 112 miles it was to Justin's Diamond RV Park. Would it be worth the the extra miles? Everyone has to make that decision. We know what our answer is.

I will admit these four days were hectic ones but I, and Tom agrees, would not change one moment we spent during this time. It was so nice to connect and spend time with friends as that is the best part of this lifestyle the friendships we have made along the way.

It is a good life and we are still lucky to be enjoying our Retirement Dream! 

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you.

Strictly a Catch Up Post Filled with Pictures of Saguaros

This was our ride from The Coyote Howls RV Park in Why, Arizona to the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area near Sonoita, Arizona. This is the day we said goodbye to the Saguaros until next year.  So fair warning there may be an overload of pictures. Not sure if the collages are in the right place but then Saguaros are Saguaros and these are all on AZ-86. 

Sunday, March 14, 2021

Leaving Coyote Howls East.

The Organ Pipe Cactus, upper left was in the park.

Heading East on AZ-86

I saw this crested Saguaro as we were going by and was 

not sure I snapped the picture fast enough to capture it. 

When I looked at the picture there it was.  Yeah!

You had to know there would be some Ocotillos.

The west end of AZ-86 is disintegrating

 except where there are washes. 

Then in the distance Kitt Peak

The Kitt Peak National Observatory is a United States astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono O'odham Nation, 56 miles west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. 

Kitt Peak National Observatory is operated by the NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory and is the national center for ground-based nighttime astronomy in the United States.  Kitt Peak is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. 

You can actually visit this Observatory for more information click here.  

(FYI: as of this date it is closed to the public because of Covid-19)

There was a section of the drive 

when we saw very few Saguaros.

Though we did see prickly pears 

and different types of chollas.

Also,  there were yellow 

wildflowers along the edge of the road.

In the distance

then up close the Saguaros covered the mountain.

This Border Patrol Check Point heading East was 

still open when we came through on the 14th. 

Stopped briefly he asked if it was just the two of us 

and are we citizens. Pretty much the standard questions

 we are asked if stopped when we are in the motorhome.

BLM Land and we are coming into Tucson.

I wonder if those are the Santa Catalina Mountains 

with snow on the top in the distance?

It seems like hardly any time has passed since we were

driving by here heading West and seeing these

Saguaros for the first time this Adventure.

It was at this point in our drive today I knew we were pretty much saying goodbye to the Saguaros for this adventure. I knew we would see a few more until we merged onto I -10 but for the most part they are behind us now.  I always feel a little sad when we leave them behind with their beauty and majesty Saguaros are a sight to be cherished. So we wave goodbye as we continue the ride to our next destination with the hope we will be back again in the not to distance future parked among them out in the Sonoran Desert.

 

Our exit and entrance onto I-10.

Arizona does a nice job with there

over passes and exit areas.

Now we will see these as we drive along.

Different types of Yucca plants and Agaves.

We are now on AZ-83 headed South.

I believe those are the Santa Rita Mountains.

If I am correct those are the Mustang Mountains.

This Border Patrol Check Point heading north on

AZ-83 is shut down.

We have turned into the

 Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. 

The Whetstone Mountains are ahead of us.

Doug and Yuma, Miss Adventure Travels, came out to the

Empire Ranch Road to direct us to this area that 

we will call home for the next week.

We are parked.

As I mentioned in the post I did about our arrival I missed

the sunset but I did get this pretty golden glow.

It was a long day but worth the trip and we are happy to 

be in this place parked by a friend.

We are glad you stopped by!

If you have time to leave a comment we would enjoy hearing from you!